^w^ 




MM JM 




Class — 

Book. 

Copyright ]^^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, 




From a drawing by Howard Pyk- 

WATCHING THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 



iSee p. 105 



DECISIVE BATTLES 
OF AMERICA 



BY 

ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, THOMAS 
WENTWORTH HIGGINSON, CLAUDE HAL- 
STEAD VAN TYNE, GEORGE PIERCE 
GARRISON, Rear-Admiral FRENCH 
ENSOR CHADWICK, U.S.N. (Retired), 
JAMES K. HOSMER, J. H. LATANE, 
RICHARD HILDRETH, 
BENSON J. LOSSING 
AND OTHERS 



EDITED BY 

RIPLEY HITCHCOCK 



ILLUSTRATED 




NEW YORK AND LONDON 

HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 

M C M I X 






Copyright, 1909, by Harper & Brothers. 

All rig^hts reserved. 
Published October, 1909. 



'>Q63 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction . , xi 

CHAPTER I 
Territorial Concepts 

European Contests Affecting America and a Sum- 
mary OF American Expansion i 

By Albert Bushnell Hart, LL.D., Professor of History 
in Harvard University. Author of "National Ideals 
Historically Traced" and Editor of "The American 
Nation." 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, in the 
history of Colonial America, between the Landing of Co- 
lumbus, 1492, and Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois, 
1609. 

CHAPTER II 
A Fight for Life 

The Hundred Years' War Between Early Colonists 
AND THE Indians 14 

By Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Author of "A 
History of the United States." 
Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois, 1609 ... 27 

By Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois, 1609, and the 
Conquest of the Pequots, 1637. 

CHAPTER III 

The Conquest of the Pequots, 1637 32 

By Richard Hildreth. Author of "The History of 
the United States of America." 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Conquest of the Pequots, 1637, ^^^ the Defeat of 
King Philip, 1676. 

iii 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER IV 



The Defeat of King Philip, 1676 44 

By Richard Hildreth. 

Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Defeat of King Philip, 1676, and the Capture of 
Quebec, 1759. 

CHAPTER V 

The Fall of Quebec, 1759 63 

By Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D., Librarian of the 

Wisconsin State Historical Society. Author of 

"France in America." 

Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 

the Capture of Quebec, 1759, and the Battle of Bunker 

Hill, 1775. 

CHAPTER VI 

I. Causes of the American Revolution, 1775-1783 . 79 
II. The Outbreak of War, 1775 

By Claude Halstead Van Tyne, Ph.D., Assistant Pro- 
fessor of American History in the University of 
Michigan. Author of "The American Revolution." 



CHAPTER VII 

The Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775 102 

By Benson J. Lossing. Author of "The Pictorial 
Field-book of the Revolution." 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775, and the Battle of 
Saratoga, 1777. 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Battle of Saratoga, 1777 . 120 

By Richard Hildreth. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Battle of Saratoga, 1777, and the Battle of York- 
town, 1 78 1. 

iv 



CONTENTS 
CHAPTER IX PAGE 

I. YORKTOWN AND THE SURRENDER OF CoRNWaLlIS, 1781 I45 

II. The Results of Yorktown 

By Claude Halstead Van Tyne, Ph.D. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 

the Battle of Yorktown, 1781, and the Battles on the 

Lakes, 1813, 1814. 

CHAPTER X 

The Battle of Lake Erie, 1813 157 

By James Barnes. Author of " Naval Actions of the 
War of 18 1 2." 

CHAPTER XI 

The Battle of Lake Champlain, 18 14 173 

By James Barnes. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, in the 
history of the United States, between the Battle of 
Lake Champlain, 18 14, and the War with Mexico, 1846- 
1847. 

CHAPTER XII 
The Rupture with Mexico, 1843-1846 183 

I. The Approach of War 

II. Conquering a Peace, 1846-1848 

By George Pierce Garrison, Ph.D., Professor of His- 
tory in the University of Texas. Author of " West- 
ward Extension." 

CHAPTER XIII 

The Battle of Buena Vista, 1847 198 

By John Bonner. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Scott's Conquest of Mexico, 1847 208 

Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, 
Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, The Occupation of 
the City of Mexico 
By John Bonner. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Conquest of Mexico, 1847, ^^^ the Bombard- 
ment of Fort Sumter, 1861. 
V 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XV PAGE 

Fort Sumter, i86i 232 

I. Drift toward Southern Nationalization 

II. Status of the Forts 

III. The Fort Sumter Crisis 

IV. The Fall of Fort Sumter 

By French Ensor Chadunck, Rear- Admiral U. S. N. 

(Retired). Author of "Causes of the Civil War." 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Bombardment of Fort Sumter. 1861, and the Battle 
of the Monitor and Merrimac, 1862. 

CHAPTER XVI 

The Battle of THE " Monitor" AND THE " Merrimac," . 274 
I. A Prelude to the Peninsular Campaign of April 
TO June, 1862 

By James Kendall Hosmer, LL.D. Author of "The 
Appeal to Arms" and "The Outcome of the Civil 
War." 
II. The Story told by Captain Worden and Lieu- 
tenant Greene of the "Monitor" 279 

By Lucius E. Chittenden. Author of "Recollections 
of Lincoln." 

CHAPTER XVII 

Farragut's Capture of New Orleans, 1862 .... 288 
With some Notes on the Blockade 
By James Kendall Hosmer] LL.D. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
Farragut's Capture of New Orleans, 1862, and the 
Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, 1863. 

CHAPTER XVIII 
Vicksburg, January-July, 1863 295 

By James Kendall Hosmer, LL.D. 

CHAPTER XIX 
Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863 .306 

By James Kendall Hosmer, LL.D. 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
the Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, 1863, and 
Appomattox, 1865. 

vi 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XX PAGB 

The Last Scene — Appomattox, 1865 ....... 329 

Told by One Who Was Present 

By Gen. G. A. Forsyth, U. S. A. (Retired). Author 
of "Thrilling Days in Army Life." 
Synopsis of the principal events, chiefly military, between 
Appomattox, 1865, and the Battles of Manila Bay and 
Santiago de Cuba, 1898. 

CHAPTER XXI 
The Battle of Manila Bay, 1898 347 

CHAPTER XXII 

The Battles of Santiago, 1898 357 

I. The First Period of the Spanish-American War 
IN THE West Indies 

II. The Land Campaign 

III. The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet 

IV. The Spanish Surrender 

V. Controversies Caused by the War 

By John Halladay Latane, Ph.D., Professor of His- 
tory, Washington and Lee University. Author of 
"America as a World Power.". 
Index 379 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



WATCHING THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL . . . . 

INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 

CHAMPLAIN's attack on an IROQUOIS FORT 

THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM ON THE MORNING OF THE 
BATTLE 

BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

GENERAL SCOTT's ENTRY INTO THE CITY OF MEXICO . 

BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

CHARGE OF THE " PALMETTOS " AT CHURUBUSCO . . 

BATTLE OF MOLINO DEL REY 

SERGEANT HART NAILING THE COLORS TO THE FLAG- 
STAFF, FORT SUMTER 

FIRST CORPS, SEMINARY RIDGE, 3.30 P.M., JULY I, 1863 

ATTACK OF pICKETT'S AND ANDERSON'S DIVISION . . 

DEPARTURE OF GENERAL LEE AFTER THE SURRENDER 

BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 

THE CAPTURE OF THE BLOCK-HOUSE AT SAN JUAN . 

THE LAST OF CERVERA's FLEET 



Fi 
Fac 



•onttsptece 

ng p. 20 

28 

70 
166 
194 
202 
218 
222 

316 
340 

3 54 
366 
372 



INTRODUCTION 



AMERICA was discovered in a search for trade routes, 
^ but our country has been in larger part maintained 
and transmitted to us directly or indirectly as the result 
of war. Almost from the outset there were conflicting 
claims on the part of Spain, France, and England, and 
also Holland. The struggles against hostile native tribes 
along the Atlantic seaboard were followed by war against 
the aggressions of the French, who would have kept the 
English-speaking colonies east of the Alleghanies. That 
long period of strife was followed by two conflicts with Eng- 
land, the first gaining America for Americans as an inde- 
pendent nation, the second confirmiAg it as an independent 
nationality. While the great Louisiana Purchase was a 
peaceful acquisition. Napoleon's willingness to cede this 
territory was intermingled with his military plans, Cali- 
fornia and the extreme Southwest came out of con- 
flict with Mexico. The Civil War preserved the integrity 
of the country which Americans had gained. Hawaii was 
added through a revolution fortunately bloodless. As a 
result of the war with Spain, Porto Rico and the Philip- 
pines were included within the limits of our authority. 

Since war is a last resort, a brutal expression of failure 
to arrive at an agreement, the series of political events 
which have preceded war and the manifold aspects of 
civil life have seemed very justly to modern historians 
more important than the descriptions of war itself. The 
older writers were fond of dwelling upon all the pomp 
and circumstances and all the dramatic accompaniments 

xi 



INTRODUCTION 

of battle. Modern history is written differently, so dif- 
ferently, in fact, that we are apt to find battles summarized 
in paragraphs by scientific historians. Thus the pendulum 
has swung from one extreme to another, until it has be- 
come a difficult matter to find in the newest shorter his- 
tories accounts of significant military events which ap- 
proach completeness. Take, for example, the battle of 
Bunker Hill. No name in our own military history is 
more familiar, and yet in many of the books most readily 
available for older as well as younger readers this battle 
appears as a brief summary of facts. As to the Mexican 
War, such remarkable military events as Taylor's victory 
at Buena Vista over a force five times as large, or the 
series of desperate battles which won the City of Mexico 
for Scott, are practically little more than obscure names 
for readers of to-day. It is not strange that Mr. Charles 
Francis Adams once inaugurated his presidency of the 
American Historical Association with an earnest plea for 
military history. 

In the present volume, which is a companion to 
Harper & Brothers' new edition of Sir Edward Creasy's 
Decisive Battles of the World, the editor has kept in mind 
the importance of preserving historical relations and 
continuity. The concise chronology of leading events in 
American history which runs through from beginning to 
end is not entirely limited to the military side of history. 
The introductory chapter sketches world relations from the 
fifteenth century. The second chapter affords a broad 
view of the relations of the early colonists to the Indians, 
and there is also specific reference to Champlain's alliance 
with the Algonquins and the consequent hostility of the 
Iroquois. For the rest, the conditions and causes lead- 
ing up to conflict are set forth wherever necessary in 
order to furnish a perspective, and to afford a narrative 
in some degree consecutive. As to the question of selec- 
tion, there is obvious justice in Creasy's dictum that the 
importance of battles is to be measured by their signifi- 

xii 



INTRODUCTION 

cance, and not by the number of men engaged or by 
carnage. To New Englanders in the seventeenth century 
the struggles with the Pequots and with King PhiHp were 
for the time being a fight for existence as well as for 
possession of the country. They were but small affairs, 
measured by modern standards ; but much history would 
have been written differently had the early New England 
settlers encountered the fate of the lost colony of Roanoke. 

The battle on the Plains of Abraham, which ended French 
rule on this continent, was fought by Englishmen with 
only slight American aid, but its consequences to Amer- 
icans were assuredly momentous. As compared with 
Gettysburg, or Sedan, or Mukden, Bunker Hill was a mere 
skirmish, yet its fame is well founded, for it was the first 
formal stand against the British by an organized American 
soldiery, and in this and in the fact of American initiative 
in seizing and fortifying Breed's Hill, it differed from the 
hasty gathering of patriots at Lexington and from the 
brief conflict at Concord Bridge. In the light of modern 
experience, again, the naval battles of Lake Erie and Lake 
Champlain seem small engagements, but the one safe- 
guarded our northern frontier and the other repelled an 
invasion aimed at the very vitals of our country. On the 
other hand, the dramatic battle of New Orleans, fought 
after peace was made, would have had but slight political 
consequences had the outcome been different. 

As to the war with Mexico, a certain chastening of the 
American conscience has perhaps led us to forget the 
extraordinary gallantry of a volunteer as well as a regular 
soldiery in a foreign country, repeatedly pitted against 
great odds. The story of the more significant battles 
• in those campaigns is entitled to better acquaintance, and 
Taylor's final victory on the north and the series of des- 
perate attacks by which Scott reached the heart of Mexico 
are therefore set forth in some detail. 

Mention of our Civil War calls up a long roll of hard- 
fought battles, but Sir Edward Creasy 's point may be 

xiii 



INTRODUCTION 

reiterated that it is not numbers or bloodshed that con- 
stitute the significance of a battle. Fort Sumter was a 
small affair; Antietam, Shiloh, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
lorsville, Chickamauga, and other hard-fought battles were 
great conflicts. . Yet influential as they were, they were 
not decisive; while Sumter represented the first open 
attack on the Flag and the instant call to arms. 

The fight of the Monitor brought a revolution in naval 
warfare. The blockade of the South, which can be only 
touched upon here, represented that decisive influence of 
sea power which has been so eloquently expounded by 
Captain Mahan. This influence was illustrated more 
concretely in Farragut's capture of New Orleans, which 
was as necessary as Grant's conquest of Vicksburg to clear 
the Mississippi and cut the Confederacy in two. In spite 
of the military importance of Sherman's march to the sea, 
the fact that, like Grant's ceaseless battering in Virginia, 
it was a campaign rather than an event, renders any 
adequate description impossible in the limits of a book 
dealing, for the most part, with crises or facts of imme- 
diately significant consequence. On the other hand, 
Gettysburg, which destroyed once and for all the possi- 
bility of a successful invasion of the North, is a historical 
landmark in concrete form. It is described in this volume 
by a historian who is also a veteran of the Civil War. 

Insignificant as was the war with Spain in comparison 
with the great struggle of 1861-65, i't is assuredly of his- 
torical consequence that the battles of Santiago de Cuba 
destroyed the last vestiges of a Spanish rule in the Western 
Hemisphere which had lasted nearly four hundred years. 
Gut of this came freedom at last for Cuba, and its grave 
responsibilities. Earlier in the same year Dewey's guns 
drove the Spanish flag from the Pacific, and gave us a not 
wholly welcome partnership in the vexed questions of the 
Orient. 

Fortunately, our Temple of Janus is closed — let us trust, 
never to be reopened. But there are momentous lessons 

xiv 



INTRODUCTION 

of patriotism and self-sacrifice to be read in these accounts 
of deeds which have preserved our country and helped 
to make it great. The eminent historians whose works 
have furnished these chapters have been moved by no 
desire to glorify war in itself — rather the reverse; but 
they have dealt with phases of history so vital and of 
such supreme interest that this story of these events 
will help general readers, old and young, to an ampler 
knowledge of our history. 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF 
AMERICA 

I 

TERRITORIAL CONCEPTS 

European Contests Affecting America, and a Summary 
of American Expansion 

THE settlers' task of conquering the wilderness might 
have been simpler had they not spent so much 
energy in conquering one another; for side by side with 
the advance of the frontier goes a process of territorial 
rivalry of which the end is not yet. Along with a contest 
with the aborigines for the face of the country went a 
nominal subdivision of the continent among the occupy- 
ing European powers, a process made more difficult by 
the slow development of knowledge about the interior: 
as late as 1660 people thought that the upper Mississippi 
emptied into the Gulf of California. 

At the very beginning came an effort to settle the prime 
problem of European title by religious authority. Three 
papal bulls of 1493 attempted to draw a meridian through 
the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, west of which Spain 
should have the whole occupancy of newly discovered 
lands, and, east of it, Portugal.^ 

* Bourne, Spain in America {Am. Nation, III), 31; Hart, 
Contemporaries, I, 40. 

I 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Spain was first to see the New World, first to coast the 
continents, first to explore the interior, first to conquer 
tribes of the natives, and first to set up organized colonies. 
Except in Brazil, which was east of the demarcation line, 
for a century after discovery Spain was the only American 
power. A war for the mastery of North America between 
the Anglo-Saxon and the Spaniard continued for more 
than two centuries. After the defeat of the Spanish 
Armada by the English, in 1588, it became possible to 
break in upon the monopoly of American territory; as 
soon as the war with Spain was over, England gave the 
first charter, which resulted in the founding of a lasting 
English colony in America — the Virginia grant of 1606. 

The claim of Spain would have been more effective 
had it not included the whole continent of North America, 
hardly an eighth of which was occupied by Spanish colo- 
nies. International law as to the occupation of new coun- 
tries was in a formative state: everybody admitted that 
you might seize the territory of pagans, but how did you 
know when you had seized it? Was the state of which 
an accredited vessel first followed a coast thereby possessed 
of all the back country draining into that coast? Did 
actual exploration of the interior create presumptive 
title to the surrounding region ? Was a trading-post 
proof that occupation was meant to be permanent? 
Did actual colonies of settlers, who expected to spend their 
lives there, make a complete evidence of rightful title ? 

These various sorts of claims were singularly tangled 
and contorted in America. Who had the best title to 
the Chesapeake — the English, who believed Sebastian 
Cabot had followed that part of the coast in 1498, or the 
French, whose commander Verrazzano undoubtedly was 
there in 1524, or the Spaniards, for whom De Ayllon made 
a voyage in 1526? Spanish explorers had crossed and 
followed the Mississippi River, but it is doubtful whether 
in 1600 they could easily have found its mouth. The 
French, in like manner, had explored the St. Lawrence, 

2 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

but without permanent results. Therefore, the territorial 
history of the United States may be said to begin with the 
almost simultaneous planting of settlements in the New 
World by France, England, and Holland, between 1600 
and 161 5. The French happened first on the St. Law- 
rence, which was the gateway into the interior, with its 
valuable fur- trade; and they set up their first permanent 
establishment at Quebec in 1608. The English, after 
thirty years of attempts on the Virginia coast, finally 
planted the colony of Jamestown in 1607. The Dutch 
rediscovered the Hudson River in 1609, and founded New 
Amsterdam in 161 4. The next great river south, the 
Delaware, was occupied by the Swedes in 1638. It is one 
of the misfortunes of civilization that Germany, then the 
richest and most intellectual nation in Europe, and well 
suited for taking a share in the development of the New 
World, w^as in this critical epoch absorbed in the fearful 
Thirty Years' War, which in 1648 left the country ruined 
and helpless, so that no attempt could be made to link 
the destinies of Germany with those of America. 

Soon began seizures of undoubted Spanish territory: 
the English first picked up various small islands in the 
West Indies, in 1655 wrested away the Spanish island of 
Jamaica, and thereupon made a little settlement on the 
coast of Honduras. The next step was a determined onset 
against the nearer neighbors in North America. Quebec 
was taken and held from 1629 to 1632; the Dutch, who 
had absorbed the Swedish colonies, were dispossessed in 
1664; ^ and the English proceeded to contest Hudson Bay 
with the French. These conflicts marked a deliberate 
intention to seize points of vantage like Belize and 
Jamaica, and to uproot the colonies of other European 
powers in North America; it was part of a process of 
English expansion which was going on also on the op- 
posite side of the globe. 

^ Andrews, Colonial Self -Government {Am. Nation, V), chap. v. 

4 



TERRITORIAL CONCEPTS 

As the eighteenth century began, France, England, 
and Spain were still in antagonism for the possession of 
North America; and the French, in 1699, succeeded in 
planting a colony on the Gulf in the side of the Spanish 
colonial empire. These international rivalries were soon 
altered by the struggle of England against the attempt 
of Louis XIV. to bring about the practical consolidation 
of Spain and France, which would have made an immense 
Latin colonial empire. To some degree on religious 
grounds, partly to protect their commerce, and partly from 
inscrutable international jealousies, the nations of Europe 
were plunged into a series of five land and naval wars 
between 1689 and 1783, in each of which North American 
territory was attacked, and in several of which great 
changes were made in the map. 

In these wars the colonies formed an ideal as to the 
duty of a mother-country to protect daughter colonies, 
and aided in developing a policy which has been de- 
scribed by one of the most brilliant of modern writers 
as that of " sea power." ^ The illustration of that theory 
was a succession of fleet engagements in the West Indies, 
always followed by a picking up of enemy's islands; and 
also the repeated efforts of the colonists in separate or 
joint expeditions to conquer the neighboring French 
or Spanish territory. The final result was the destruc- 
tion of the French-American power and the serious weak- 
ening of the Spanish. 

In 1732 the charter of Georgia was a denial of the 
Spanish claims to Florida. By the treaty of 1763 France 
was pressed altogether out of the continent, yielding up 
to England that splendid region of the eastern part of 
the Mississippi Valley which the English coveted, and 
with it the St. Lawrence Valley. For the first time since 
the capture of Jamaica, a considerable area of Spanish 
territory was transferred to England by the cession of 

* Mahan, Influence of Sea Poiver upon History, chaps, iv-viii. 

5 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the Floridas. Louisiana to the west of the Mississippi, 
together with New Orleans, on the east bank, were al- 
lowed to pass to Spain. From that time to the Revolu- 
tion the only two North American powers were England 
and Spain, who substantially divided the continent be- 
tween them by the line of the Mississippi River. ^ 

During this period the English were not only acquiring 
but were parcelling out their new territory. It was 
always a serious question how far west the coast colonies 
extended; some of them — Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
Virginia, the Carolinas — had bounds nominally reaching 
to the Pacific Ocean. To silence this controversy, in 
1763 a royal proclamation directed that the colonial 
governors should not exercise jurisdiction west of the 
heads of the rivers flowing into the Atlantic, leaving in 
a kind of territorial limbo the region between the summit 
of the Appalachians and the Mississippi!^ These nu- 
merous territorial grants gave rise to many internal con- 
troversies; but by the time of the Revolution most of the 
lines starting at the sea-coast and leading inward had been 
adjusted. 

The idea of territorial solidarity among the English 
colonies was disturbed by the addition of Nova Scotia 
and Quebec on the north, and East and West Florida 
on the south. Intercolonial jealousy was heightened in 

1774 by the Quebec act, under which the almost un- 
peopled region north of the Ohio River was added to the 
French-speaking province. When the Revolution broke 
out in 1775, that jealousy was reflected in the refusal of 
Quebec and Nova Scotia and the distant Floridas to join 
in it. Alm.ost the first campaign of the war, however, 
showed the purpose of territorial enlargement, for in 

1775 the Arnold-Montgomery expedition to Canada vainly 
attempted to persuade the Frenchmen by force to enter 

* Cf. Howard, Preliminaries of the Revolution {Am. Nation, 
VIII), chap. i. ^Ihid.y 229. 

6 



TERRITORIAL CONCEPTS 

the union. Two years later George Rogers Clark lopped 
off the southern half of the British western country. The 
Southwest, into which settlers had begun to penetrate in 
1769, was, during the Revolution, laid hold of by the ad- 
venturous frontiersman; and in 1782 the negotiators of 
Paris thought best to leave that, as well as the whole 
North v/est, in the hands of the new United States.* 

The result of the Revolutionary War was the entrance 
into the American continent of a third territorial power, 
the United States, which was divided into two nearly 
equal portions : between the sea and the mountains lay the 
original thirteen states; between the mountains and the 
Mississippi was an area destined to be organized into 
separate states and immediately opened for settlement.^ 
This destiny was solemnly announced by votes of Con- 
gress in 1780, and by the territorial ordinance of 1784, 
the land ordinance of 1785, and the Northwest Ordinance 
of 1787, which, taken together, were virtually a charter 
for the western country, very similar in import to the 
old colonial charters.^ 

In this sketch of territorial development up to 1787 
may be seen the elements of a national policy and a 
national system: the territories were practically colonies 
and inchoate states, soon to be admitted into the Union; 
while the expansion of the national boundary during the 
war was a presage of future conquest and enlargement; 
and, considering the military and naval strength of Great 
Britain, the only direction in which annexation was likely 
was the southwest. Although the Federal Constitution 
of 1787 acknowledged the difference between states and 
territories only in general terms, and made no provision 
for the annexation of territory, the spirit and the reason- 
able implication of that instrument was that the Union 

^ Cf. Hart, Foundations of Am. Foreign Policy, 18. 
^ McLaughlin, Confederation and Constitution {Am. Nation, X) . 
chaps, vii, viii. 

^ Texts in Am. Hist. Leaflets, No. 32. 

7 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

might be and probably would be enlarged; some writers 
at the time felt sure that republican government was 
applicable to large areas. ^ 

Hence it was neither unnatural nor unsuitable that the 
new nation should at once show a spirit of expansion: 
in 1795 and 1796 its boundaries were finally acknowl- 
edged by its southern and northern neighbors. Various 
wild schemes of invading Spanish territory were broached, 
but not till 1 803 was the question of the Mississippi fairly 
faced. Repeating the bold policy of Louis XIV., Napoleon 
attempted to combine the military and colonial forces of 
Spain with those of France, in order to make head against 
Great Britain. As a preliminary, in 1800 he practically 
compelled the cession of the former French province of 
Louisiana, and thereby revealed to the American people 
that it would be a menace to national prosperity to per- 
mit a powerful military nation to block the commercial 
outlet of the interior. Hence, when Napoleon changed his 
mind and offered the province to the United States in 
1803, there was nothing for the envoys, the President, the 
Senate, the House, and the people to do but to accept it 
as a piece of manifest destiny. The boundaries of the 
Union were thus extended to the Gulf and to the distant 
Rocky Mountains.^ 

With a refinement of assurance the United States also 
claimed, and in 181 4 forcibly occupied West Florida. In 
the same period began a purposeful movemenc for ex- 
tending the territory of the United States to the Pacific. 
Taking advantage of the discovery of the mouth of the 
Columbia River by an American ship in 1792, President 
Jefferson sent out a transcontinental expedition, under 
Lewis and Clark, which reached the Pacific in 1805, and 
thereby forged a second link in the American claims to 
Oregon. By this time the Spanish empire was in the 

^Federalist (Lodge ed.), No. 14. 

^ Cf. Channing, Jeffersonian System {Am. Nation, XII), 
chap. V. 

8 



TERRITORIAL CONCEPTS 

throes of colonial revolution, and in 1819 the Spanish 
government ceded East Florida and withdrew any claims 
to Oregon, Texas being left to Spain. 

This is a stirring decade, and it completely changed the 
territorial status of the United States. By 181 9 the 
Atlantic coast all belonged to the United States, from the 
St. Croix River around Florida to the Sabine ; the country 
was reaching out toward Mexico, and w^as building a 
bridge of solid territory across the continent, where, as 
all the world knew, far to the south of Oregon lay the 
harbor of San Francisco, the best haven on the Pacific 
coast. The bold conceptions of Jefferson and John 
Quincy Adams and their compeers included the com- 
mercial and political advantages of a Pacific front; 
and they w^ere consciously preparing the w^ay for the 
homes of unborn generations under the American 
flag. 

One result of the new position of the United States was 
to bring out sharply a territorial rivalr}?- with Great 
Britain. The War of 181 2 had been an attempt to annex 
Canada, and after it was over a controversy as to the 
boundary between Maine and Nova Scotia kept the two 
countries harassed until its settlement in 1842.^ After 
that the rivalry for Oregon, which had been held in joint 
occupation since 181 8, was intensified. About 1832 
immigration began in which the Americans outran the 
English; and it was fortunate for both countries that in 
1846 the disputed territory was divided by a fair com- 
promise line, the forty-ninth parallel.^ A third territorial 
controversy was fought out within the limits of the Union 
itself, between the friends and opponents of the annexa- 
tion of Texas, in 1845.^ This was the first instance of an 
American colony planting itself within the acknowledged 
limits of another power, until it was strong enough to set 

^Garrison, Westward Extension (Am. Nation, XVII), chap. v. 
^ Ibid., chap. xi. ^ Ibid., chap. vii. 

9 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

up for itself as an independent state and to ask for ad- 
mission to the Union. 

The annexation of Texas inevitably led to a move- 
ment on California, which could be obtained only by ag- 
gressive war upon Mexico, and for connection with which 
the possession of New Mexico was also thought necessary. 
Ever since 1820 explorers had been opening up the region 
between the Mississippi and the Pacific,^ and it was known 
that there were several practicable roads to that distant 
coast.^ The annexation of California almost led the 
United States into a serious territorial adventure; for 
apparently nothing but the hasty treaty negotiated by 
Trist in 1848 stopped a movement for the annexation of 
the whole of Mexico.^ The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 
conveniently rounded out the cession of New Mexico and 
closed this second era of territorial expansion. 

The annexation of Texas was logical, and delayed only 
by the accidental connection with slavery; but the an- 
nexation of Oregon and California added to the Union 
very distant possessions, the settlement of which must 
have been slow but for the discovery of gold in California 
in 1848. At once a new set of territorial questions arose: 
the necessity of reaching California across the plains led 
to the organization of Nebraska and Kansas territories in 
1854, which convulsed the parties of the time; the move- 
ment across the Isthmus to California brought up the 
question of an interoceanic canal in a new light; the 
commercial footing on the Pacific led to a pressure which 
broke the shell of Japanese exclusion in 1854. Above all, 
these annexations brought before the nation two ques- 
tions of constitutional law, which proved both difficult 
and disturbing: the issue of slavery in the territories, 
which precipitated, if it did not cause, the Civil War, and 
the eventual status of territories which, from their situa- 

^ Turner, New West {Am. Nation, XIV), 1 14-122. 

2 See chap, iii, below. 

3 Bourne, Essays in Historical Criticism, No. 9. 

10 



TERRITORIAL CONCEPTS 

tion or their population, were not likely to become 
states. 

The third era of national expansion began in 1867 with 
the purchase of Alaska.^ which was wholly a personal plan 
of Secretary Seward, in which the nation took very little 
interest; nor was the public aroused by Seward's more 
important scheme for annexing the Danish West India 
Islands and a part of Santo Domingo; when the latter 
project was taken up in 1870 and pushed with unaccount- 
able energy by President Grant, ^ popular sentiment 
showed itself plainly averse to annexing a country with 
a population wholly negro and little in accord with the 
American spirit. For twenty-five years thereafter there 
was the same indisposition to annex territory that brought 
problems with it; and then the movement for the an- 
nexation of Hawaii was headed off by President Cleveland 
in 1893.^ The Spanish War of 1898 swept all these bar- 
riers away, and left the United States in possession of the 
Philippine Islands, a distant archipelago containing seven 
and a half millions of Catholic Malays; of the island of 
Porto Rico, in the West Indies; of the Hawaiian group; 
of a responsible protectorate over Cuba; and, four years 
later, of the Panama strip, which may include the future 
Constantinople of the western world. 

In the whole territorial history of the country, never 
has there been such a transition. The Philippines, which 
"Mr. Dooley" in 1898 thought might be canned goods, 
are now, according to the Supreme Court, in one sense 
"a part of the United States," yet not an organic part 
in financial or governmental or legal relations. The 
country, which from 1850 to 1902 divided with Great 
Britain the responsibility for a future Isthmian canal, is 
now "making the dirt fly" in a canal strip which is virtually 
Federal territory. China, which a few years ago was one 

^ Dunning, Reconstruction (Am. Nation, XXII), chap. x. 
2 Ibid. 

^ Dewey, National Problems (Am. Nation, XXIV) , chap, xviii. 

II 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

of the remotest parts of the earth, now lies but a few 
hundred miles from American possessions. The romantic 
era of annexations has gone by: the automobile trundles 
across the Great American Desert and stops for lunch at 
a railroad restaurant, and the South Sea Islands have lost 
their mystery since the trade-winds straighten out the 
American flag above some of those tiny land-spots. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, IN THE HISTORY OF COLONIAL 
AMERICA BETWEEN THE LANDING 
OF COLUMBUS, 1492, AND CHAM- 
PLAIN'S BATTLE WITH 
THE IROQUOIS, 1609 

1492. Columbus discovers the western world. 

1497. John Cabot reaches the mainland of North 
America. 

1498. Columbus discovers the mainland of South 
America. 

1 5 12. Ponce de Leon lands in Florida. 

1 5 13. Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean. 

1 5 19. Entry of Cortez into the City of Mexico. 

1 52 1. Conquest of Mexico by Cortez. 

1531-33. Conquest of Peru by Pizarro. 

1534. Cartier's first voyage to the St. Lawrence. 

1535-36. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca crosses the 
continent from near the mouth of the Mississippi to 
Sinaloa in Mexico. 

1 54 1. The expedition of De Soto reaches the Missis- 
sippi River. Coronado, coming from Mexico, reaches the 
interior, probably northeastern Kansas. 

1562. The Huguenots attempt a settlement on the coast 
of South Carolina. 

1564. Huguenot settlement on the St. John's River in 
Florida. 

12 



TERRITORIAL CONCEPTS 

1565. Founding of St. Augustine by the Spanish. 

1583. Sir Humphrey Gilbert takes possession of New- 
foundland in the name of Queen Elizabeth. 

1584. Raleigh's expedition to North Carolina. The 
region is named Virginia in honor of Queen Elizabeth. 

1585. Unsuccessful settlement by the English on 
Roanoke Island. 

1602. Bartholomew Gosnold attempts a settlement on 
the coast of Massachusetts. 

1606. James I. grants a patent to the London and 
Plymouth Companies. 

1607. Foundation of Jamestown. 

1608. Foundation of Quebec by the French. 

1609. Champlain, with Algonquin Indians, defeats 
Mohawks, of the Iroquois Confederacy, near Ticon- 
deroga. 



II 

A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

The Hundred Years' War Between Early Colonists and 
the Indians 

EUROPEAN history makes much of the ''Seven Years' 
War" and the "Thirty Years' War"; and when we 
think of a continuous national contest for even the least of 
those periods, there is something, terrible in the picture. 
But the feeble English colonies in America, besides all 
the difficulties of pioneer life, had to sustain a warfare 
that lasted, with few intermissions, for about a hundred 
years. It was, moreover, a warfare against the most 
savage and stealthy enemies, gradually trained and rein- 
forced by the most formidable military skill of Europe. 
Without counting the early feuds, such as the Pequot 
War, there elapsed almost precisely a century from the 
accession of King Philip, in 1662, to the Peace of Paris, 
which nominally ended the last French and Indian War 
in 1763. During this whole period, with pacific intervals 
that sometimes lasted for years, the same essential con- 
test went on ; the real question being, for the greater part 
of the time, whether France or England should control 
the continent. The description of this prolonged war 
may, therefore, well precede any general account of the 
colonial or provincial life in America. 

The early explorers of the Atlantic coast usually testify 
that they found the Indians a gentle, not a ferocious, 
people. They were as ready as could be expected to 
accept the Mendship of the white race. In almost every 
case of quarrel the white men were the immediate ag- 

14 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

gressors, and where they were attacked without seeming 
cause — as when Smith's Virginian colony was assailed by 
the Indians in the first fortnight of its existence — there is 
good reason to think that the act of the Indians was in 
revenge for wrongs elsewhere. One of the first impulses 
of the early explorers was to kidnap natives for exhibition 
in Europe, in order to excite the curiosity of kings or the 
zeal of priests; and even where these captives were re- 
stored unharmed, the distrust could not be removed. Add 
to this the acts of plunder, lust, or violence, and there 
was plenty of provocation given from the very outset. 

The disposition to cheat and defraud the Indians has 
been much exaggerated, at least as regards the English 
settlers. The early Spanish invaders made no pretence 
of buying one foot of land from the Indians, whereas the 
English often went through the form of purchase, and 
very commonl}^ put in practice the reality. The Pilgrims, 
at the very beginning, took baskets of corn from an Indian 
grave to be used as seed, and paid for it afterward. The 
year after the Massachusetts colony was founded the court 
decreed: "It is ordered that Josias Plastowe shall (for 
stealing four baskets of corne from the Indians) returne 
them eight baskets againe, be fined five pounds, and here- 
after called by the name of Josias, and not Mr., as for- 
merly he used to be." As a mere matter of policy, it was 
the general disposition of the English settlers to obtain 
lands by honest purchase ; indeed. Governor Josiah Wins- 
low, of Plymouth, declared, in reference to King Philip's 
War, that "before these present troubles broke out the 
English did not possess one foot of land in this colony but 
what w^as fairly obtained by honest purchase of the Ind- 
ian proprietors." This policy was quite genera.1. Cap- 
tain West, in 1610, bought the site of what is now Rich- 
mond, Virginia, for some copper. The Dutch Governor 
Minuit bought the island, of Manhattan, in 1626, for sixty 
gilders. Lord Baltimore's company purchased land for 
cloth, tools, and trinkets; the Swedes obtained the site of 

15 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

Christian ia for a kettle ; Roger Williams bought the island 
of Rhode Island for forty fathoms of white beads; and 
New Haven was sold to the whites, in 1638, for "twelve 
coats of English cloth, twelve alchemy spoons, twelve 
hoes, twelve hatchets, twelve porringers, twenty-four 
knives, and twenty-four cases of French knives and 
spoons." Many other such purchases will be found re- 
corded by Doctor Ellis. And though the price paid 
might often seem ludicrously small, yet we must remem- 
ber that a knife or a hatchet was really worth more to 
an Indian than many square miles of wild land; while 
even the beads were a substitute for wampum, or wom- 
pom, which was their circulating medium in dealing with 
each other and with the whites, and was worth, in 1660, 
five shillings a fathom. 

So far as the mere bargaining went, the Indians were not 
individually the sufferers in the early days ; but we must re- 
member that behind all these transactions there often lay a 
theory which was as merciless as that of the Spanish "Requi- 
sition,"^ and which would, if logically carried out, have made 
all these bargainings quite superfluous. Increase Mather 
begins his history of King Philip's War with this phrase, 
"That the Heathen People amongst whom we live, and 
whose Land the Lord God of our Fathers hath given to us 
for a rightful Possession " ; and it was this attitude of hostile 
superiority that gave the sting to all the relations of the 
two races. If a quarrel rose, it was apt to be the white 
man's fault; and after it had arisen, even the humaner 
Englishmen usually sided with their race, as when the 
peaceful Plymouth men w^ent to war in defence of the 
Weymouth reprobates. This fact, and the vague feeling 
that an irresistible pressure was displacing them, caused 
most of the early Indian outbreaks. And when hostilities 
had once arisen, it was very rare for a white man of Eng- 
lish birth to be found fighting against his own people, 

^ Official order addressed to Spanish commanders authorizing 
the conversion, enslavement, or slaughter of the natives, 

17 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

although it grew more and more common to find Indians 
on both sides. 

As time went on each party learned from the other. In 
the early explorations, as of Champlain and Smith, we 
see the Indians terrified by their first sight of firearms, 
but soon becoming skilled in the use of them. "The 
King, with fortie Bowmen to guard me," says Capt. John 
Smith, in 1608, "entreated me to discharge my Pistoll, 
which they there presented to me, with a mark at six- 
score to strike therewith ; but to spoil the practise I broke 
the cocke, whereat they were much discontented." But 
writing more than twenty years later, in 1631, he says of 
the Virginia settlers, "The loving Salvages their kinde 
friends they trained up so well to shoot in a Peace [fowling- 
piece] to hunt and kill them fowle, they became more 
expert than our own countrymen." La Hontan, writing 
in 1703, says of the successors of those against whom 
Champlain had first used firearms, "The Strength of the 
Iroquese lies in engaging with Fire Arms in a Forrest, for 
they shoot very dexterously." They learned also to make 
more skilful fortifications, and to keep a regular watch at 
night, which in the time of the early explorers they had 
omitted. The same La Hontan says of the Iroquois, 
"They are as negligent in the night-time as they are vigi- 
lant in the day." 

But it is equally true that the English colonists learned 
much in the way of forest warfare from the Indians. The 
French carried their imitation so far that they often dis- 
guised themselves to resemble their allies, with paint, 
feathers, and all; it was sometimes impossible to tell in 
an attacking party which warriors were French and which 
were Indians. Without often going so far as this, the 
English colonists still modified their tactics. At first they 
seemed almost irresistible because of their armor and 
weapons. In the very first year of the Plymouth settle- 
ment, when report was brought that their friend Massasoit 
had been attacked by the Narrangansets, and a friendly 

18 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

Indian had been killed, the colony sent ten armed men, 
including Miles Standish, to the Indian town of Namasket 
(now Middleborough) to rescue or revenge their friend; 
and they succeeded in their enterprise, surrounding the 
chief's house and frightening every one in a large Indian 
village by two discharges of their muskets. 

But the heavy armor gradua ly proved a doubtful ad- 
vantage against a stealthy and light-footed foe. In spite 
of the superior physical strength of the Englishman, he 
could not travel long distances through the woods or 
along the sands without lightening his weight. He 
learned also to fight from behind a tree, to follow a trail, 
to cover his body with hemlock boughs for disguise when 
scouting. Captain Church states in his own narrative 
that he learned from his Indian soldiers to march his 
men "thin and scattering" through the woods; that the 
English had previously, according to the Indians, "kept 
in a heap together, so that it was as easy to hit them as 
to hit a house." Even the advantage of firearms in- 
volved the risk of being without ammunition, so that the 
Rhode Island colony, by the code of laws adopted in 1647, 
required that every man between seventeen and seventy 
should have a bow with four arrows, and exercise with 
them; and that each father should furnish every son 
from seven to seventeen years old with a bow, two arrows, 
and shafts, and should bring them up to shooting. If this 
statute was violated a fine was imposed, which the father 
must pay for the son, the master for the servant, deduct- 
ing it in the latter case from his wages. 

Less satisfactory was the change by which the taking 
of scalps came to be a recognized part of colonial warfare. 
Hannah Dustin, who escaped from Indian captivity in 
1698, took ten scalps with her own hand, and was paid 
for them. Captain Church, undertaking his expedition 
against the eastern Indians, in 1705, after the Deerfield 
massacre, announced that he had not hitherto permitted 
the scalping of "Canada men," but should thenceforth 

19 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

allow it. In 1722, when the Massachusetts colony sent 
an expedition against the village of "praying Indians," 
founded by Father Rasle, they offered for each scalp a 
bounty of £1$, afterward increased to j^ioc; and this 
inhumanity was so far carried out that the French priest 
himself was one of the victims. Jeremiah Bumstead, of 
Boston, made this entry in his almanac in the same year: 
"Aug. 22, 28 Indian scalps brought to Boston, one of 
which was Bombazen's [an Indian chief] and one fryer 
Raile's." Two years after, the celebrated but inappro- 
priately named Captain Lovewell, the foremost Indian 
fighter of his region, came upon ten Indians asleep round 
a pond. He and his men killed and scalped them all, and 
entered Dover, New Hampshire, bearing the ten scalps 
stretched on hoops and elevated on poles. After receiving 
an ovation in Dover they went by water to Boston, .and 
were paid a thousand pounds for their scalps. Yet Love- 
well's party was always accompanied by a chaplain, and 
had prayers every morning and evening. 

The most painful aspect of the whole practice lies in 
the fact that it was not confined to those actually en- 
gaged in fighting, but that the colonial authorities actually 
established a tariff of prices for scalps, including even 
non-combatants — so much for a man's, so much for a 
woman's, so much for a child's. Doctor Ellis has lately 
pointed out the striking circumstance that whereas 
William Penn had declared the person of an Indian to 
be "sacred," his grandson, in 1764, offered $134 for the 
scalp of an Indian man, $130 for that of a boy under ten, 
and $50 for that of a woman or girl. The habit doubtless 
began in the fury of retaliation, and was continued in 
order to conciliate Indian allies; and when bounties were 
offered to them, the white volunteers naturally claimed 
a share. But there is no doubt that Puritan theology 
helped the adoption of the practice. It was partly be- 
cause the Indian was held to be something worse than 
a beast that he was treated with very little mercy. The 

20 




dra ' ing by Ho\\ard Pyle 

INDIANS OX THE WARPATH 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

truth is that he was viewed as a fiend, and there could 
not be much scruple about using inhumanities against a 
demon. Cotton Mather calls Satan "the old landlord" 
of the American wilderness, and says in his Magnalia: 
"These Parts were then covered with Nations of Bar- 
barous Indians and Infidels, in whom the Prince of the 
Power of the Air did work as a Spirit; nor could it be ex- 
pected that Nations of Wretches whose whole religion was 
the most Explicit sort of Devil- Worship should not be 
acted by the devil to engage in some early and bloody 
Action for the Extinction of a Plantation so contrary to 
his Interests as that of New England was." 

Before the French influence began to be felt there was 
ver}^ little union on the part of the Indians, and each 
colony adjusted its own relations with them. At the time 
of the frightful Indian massacre in the Virginia colony 
(March 22, 1622), when three hundred and forty-seven 
men, women, and children were murdered, the Plymouth 
colony was living in entire peace with its savage neigh- 
bors. "We have found the Indians," wrote Governor 
Winslow, "very faithful to their covenants of peace with 
us, very loving and willing to pleasure us. We go with 
them in some cases fifty miles into the country, and walk 
as safely and peacefully in the woods as in the highways 
of England." The treaty with Massasoit lasted for more 
than fifty years, and the first bloodshed between the Plym- 
outh men and the Indians was incurred in the protection 
of the colony of Weymouth, which had brought trouble 
on itself in 1623. The Connecticut settlements had far 
more difficulty with the Indians than those in Massa- 
chusetts, but the severe punishment inflicted on the 
Pequots in 1637 quieted the savages for a long time. In 
that fight a village of seventy wigwams was destroyed by 
a force of ninety white men and several hundred friendly 
Indians; and Captain Underbill, the second in command, 
has left a quaint delineation of the attack. 

There was a period resembling peace in the eastern 

21 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

colonies for nearly forty years after the Pequot War, 
while in Virginia there were renewed massacres in 1644 
and 1656. But the first organized Indian outbreak be- 
gan with the conspiracy of King Philip in 1675, although 
the seeds had been sown before that chief succeeded to 
power in 1662. In that year Wamsutta, or Alexander, 
Philip's brother — both being sons of Massasoit — having 
fallen under some suspicion, was either compelled or per- 
suaded by Major Josiah Winslow, afterwards the first 
native-born Governor of Plymouth, to visit that settle- 
ment. The Indian came with his whole train of warriors 
and women, including his queen, the celebrated "squaw 
sachem" Weetamo, and they stayed at Winslow's house. 
Here the chief fell ill. The day was very hot, and though 
Winslow offered his horse to the chief, it was refused, 
because there was none for his squaw or the other women. 
He was sent home because of illness, and died before he 
got half-way there. This is the story as told by Hubbard, 
but not altogether confirmed by other authorities. If 
true, it is interesting as confirming the theory of that 
careful student, Lucien Carr, that the early position of 
women among the Indians was higher than has been gen- 
erally believed. It is pretty certain, at any rate, that 
Alexander's widow, Weetamo, believed her husband to 
have been poisoned by the English, and she ultimately 
sided with Philip when the war broke out, and apparently 
led him and other Indians to the same view as to the 
poisoning. It is evident that from the time of Philip's 
accession to authority, whatever he may have claimed, 
his mind was turned more and more against the English. 
It is now doubted whether the war known as King 
Philip's War was the result of such deliberate and or- 
ganized action as was formerly supposed, but about the 
formidable strength of the outbreak there can be no ques- 
tion. It began in June, 1675; Philip was killed August 
12, 1676, and the war w^as prolonged at the eastward for 
nearly two years after his death. Ten or twelve Puritan 

22 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

towns were utterly destroyed, many more damaged, and 
five or six hundred men were killed or missing. The war 
cost the colonists ;^i 00,000, and the Plymouth colony 
was left under a debt exceeding the whole valuation of its 
property — a debt ultimately paid, both principal and in- 
terest. On the other hand, the war tested and cemented 
the league founded in 1643 between four colonies — Massa- 
chusetts, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut — 
against the Indians and Dutch, while this prepared the 
way more and more for the extensive combinations that 
came after. In this early war, as the Indians had no 
French allies, so the English had few Indian allies, and 
it was less complex than the later contests, and so far less 
formidable. But it was the first real experience on the 
part of the eastern colonists of all the peculiar horrors of 
Indian warfare — the stealthy approach, the abused hos- 
pitality, the early morning assault, the maimed cattle, 
tortured prisoners, slain infants. All the terrors that 
lately attached to a frontier attack of Apaches or Co- 
manches belonged to the daily life of settlers in New 
England and Virginia for many years, with one vast dif- 
ference, arising from the total absence in those earl 3^ days 
of any personal violence or insult to women. By the 
general agreement of witnesses from all nations, includ- 
ing the women captives themselves, this crowning crime 
was then wholly absent. The once famous "white 
woman," Mary Jemison, who was taken prisoner by the 
Senecas at ten years old, in 1743 — who lived in that tribe 
all her life, survived two Indian husbands, and at last 
died at ninety — always testified that she had never re- 
ceived an insult from an Indian, and had never known 
of a captive's receiving any. She added that she had 
known few instances in the tribe of conjugal immorality, 
although she lived to see it demoralized and ruined by 
strong drink. 

The English colonists seem never to have inflicted on 
the Indians any cruelty resulting from sensual vices, but 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

of barbarity of another kind there was plenty, for it was 
a cruel age. When the Narraganset fort was taken by 
the English, December 19, 1675, the wigwams within the 
fort were all set on fire, against the earnest entreaty of 
Captain Church ; and it was thought that more than one- 
half the English loss — which amounted to several hun- 
dred — might have been saved had there been any shelter 
for their own wounded on that cold night. This, how- 
ever, was a question of military necessity; but the true 
spirit of the age was seen in the punishments inflicted 
after the war was over. The heads of Philip's chief fol- 
lowers were cut off, though Captain Church, their captor, 
had promised to spare their lives; and Philip himself was 
beheaded and quartered by Church's order, since he was 
regarded, curiously enough, as a rebel against Charles the 
Second, and this was the state punishment for treason. 
Another avowed reason was, that "as he had caused many 
an Englishman's body to lye unburied," not one of his 
bones should be placed under ground. The head was set 
upon a pole in Plymouth, where it remained for more 
than twenty-four years. Yet when we remember that 
the heads of alleged traitors were exposed in London at 
Temple Bar for nearly a century longer — till 1772 at 
least — it is unjust to infer from this course any such 
fiendish cruelty as it would now imply. It is necessary 
to extend the same charity, however hard it may be, to 
the selling of Philip's wife and little son into slavery at 
the Bermudas; and here, as has been seen, the clergy were 
consulted and the Old Testament called into requisition. 
While these events were passing in the eastern settle- 
ments there were Indian outbreaks in Virginia, resulting 
in war among the white settlers themselves. The colony 
was, for various reasons, discontented; it was greatly 
oppressed, and a series of Indian murders brought the 
troubles to a climax. The policy pursued against the 
Indians was severe, and yet there was no proper protec- 
tion afforded by the government; war was declared 

24 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

against them in 1676, and then the forces sent out were 
suddenly disbanded by the governor, Berkeley. At last 
there was a popular rebellion, which included almost 
all the civil and military officers of the colony, and the 
rebellious party put Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., a recently 
arrived but very popular planter, at their head. He 
marched with five hundred men against the Indians, but 
was proclaimed a traitor by the governor, whom Bacon 
proclaimed a traitor in return. The war with the savages 
became by degrees quite secondary to the internal con- 
tests among the English, in the course of which Bacon 
took and burned Jamestown, beginning, it is said, with 
his own house; but he died soon after. The insurrection 
was suppressed, and the Indians were finally quieted by 
a treaty. 

Into all the Indian wars after King Philip's death two 
nationalities besides the Indian and English entered in 
an important way. These were the Dutch and the French. 
It was the Dutch who, soon after 16 14, first sold firearms 
to the Indians in defiance of their own laws, and by this 
means greatly increased the horrors of the Indian war- 
fare. On the other hand, the Dutch, because of the close 
friendship they established with the Five Nations, com- 
monly called the Iroquois, did to the English colonists, 
though unintentionally, a service so great that the whole 
issue of the prolonged war may have turned upon it. 
These tribes, the Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, 
and Senecas — afterward joined by the Tuscaroras — held 
the key to the continent. Occupying the greater part of 
what is now the State of New York, they virtually ruled 
the country from the Atlantic to the Mississippi and from 
the Great Lakes to the Savannah River. They were from 
the first treated with great consideration by the Dutch, 
and they remained, with brief intervals of war, their firm 
friends. One war, indeed, there was under the injudi- 
cious management of Governor Kieft, lasting from 1640 to 
1643; and this came near involving the English colonies, 

25 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

while it caused the death of sixteen hundred Indians, first 
or last, seven hundred of these being massacred under 
the borrowed Puritan leader Captain Underhill. But 
this made no permanent interruption to the alliance be- 
tween the Iroquois and the Dutch. 

When New Netherlands yielded to the English, the same 
alliance was retained, and to this we probably owe the 
preservation of the colonies, their union against England, 
and the very existence of the present American nation. 
Yet the first English governor, Colden, has left on record 
the complaint of an Indian chief, who said that they very 
soon felt the difference between the two alliances. 
"When the Dutch held this country," he said, "we lay 
in our houses, but the English have always made us He 
out-of-doors." 

But if the Dutch were thus an important factor in the 
Indian wars, the French became almost the controlling 
influence on the other side. Except for the strip of Eng- 
lish colonies along the sea-shore, the North American con- 
tinent north of Mexico was French. This was not the 
result of accident or of the greater energy of that nation, 
but of a systematic policy, beginning with Champlain 
and never abandoned by his successors. This plan was, 
as admirably stated by Parkman, "to influence Indian 
counsels, to hold the balance of power between adverse 
tribes, to envelop in the net- work of French power and 
diplomacy the remotest hordes of the wilderness." With 
this was combined a love of exploration so great that it 
was hard to say which assisted the most in spreading their 
dominion — religion, the love of adventure, diplomatic 
skill, or military talent. These between them gave the 
interior of the continent to the French. One of the New 
York governors wrote home that if the French were to 
hold all that they had discovered, England would not 
have a hundred miles from the sea anywhere. 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

CHAMPLAIN's battle with the IROQUOIS 
By Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. 

From the time of the restoration of New France (1632) 
till the final catastrophe of 1759, Canada remained unin- 
terruptedly French; and from the tide-water of the St. 
Lawrence as a base, French traders, soldiers, and settlers 
{habitants) spread westward, northward, and eventually 
southward. In the year of the restoration probably not 
over a hundred and eighty of its inhabitants might prop- 
erly be called settlers, with perhaps a few score military 
men, seafarers, and visiting commercial adventurers. 
The majority of residents, of course, centred at Quebec, 
with a few at the outlying trading-posts of Tadoussac 
on the east, Three Rivers on the west, and the interven- 
ing hamlets of Beaupre, Beauport, and Isle d'Orleans. 
At the same time the English and Dutch settlements in 
Virginia, the Middle Colonies, and Massachusetts had 
probably amassed an aggregate population of twenty-five 
thousand — for between the years 1627 and 1637 upward 
of twenty thousand settlers emigrated thither from 
Europe. While the English government was engaged in 
efforts to repress the migration toward its own colonies, 
the utmost endeavors of the powerful French companies, 
their arguments reinforced by bounties, could not induce 
more than a few home-loving Frenchmen to try their 
fortunes amid the rigors of the New World. 

With all his tact, Champlain had committed one act 
of indiscretion, the effects of which were left as an ill- 
fated legacy to the little colony which he otherwise 
nursed so well. Seeking to please his Algonquian neigh- 
bors upon the St. Lawrence, and at the time eager to 
explore the country, the commandant, with two of his 
men-at-arms, accompanied (1609) one of their frequent 
war-parties against the confederated Iroquois, who lived, 

27 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

for the most part, in New York state and northeastern 
Pennsylvania. Meeting a hostile band of two hundred 
and fifty warriors near where Fort Ticonderoga was after- 
ward constructed, Champlain and his white attendants 
easily routed the enemy by means of firearms, with which 
the interior savages were as yet unacquainted/ His 
success in this direction was, through the unfortunate 
importunity of his allies, repeated in 1610; but five years 
later, when he invaded the Iroquois cantonments in the 
company of a large body of Huron, whose country to the 
east of Lake Huron he had been visiting that summer, 
the tribesmen to the southeast of Lake Ontario were 
found to have lost much of their fear for white men's 
weapons, and the invaders retreated in some disorder. 

The results were highly disastrous both to the Huron 
and the French. The former were year by year merci- 
lessly harried by the bloodthirsty Iroquois, until in 1649 

* " The shot from Champlain's arquebus had determined the 
part that was to be played in the approaching conflict by the 
most powerful military force among the Indians of North Amer- 
ica. It had made the confederacy of the Iroquois and all its 
nations and dependencies the implacable enemies of the French 
and the fast friends of the English for all the long struggle that 
was to come." [This quotation is from Senator Elihu Root's 
eloquent address at the Champlain tercentenary celebration in 
1909. Influential as Champlain's act proved to be, it is well to 
remember that it was the Dutch treatment of the Iroquois that 
gained the latter's friendship for the English, the successors of 
the Dutch, and also that the Iroquois, as Doctor Thwaites points 
out in his France in America, did in subsequent years negotiate 
with the French. But the historic consequence of Champlain's act 
is of course obvious, although it is not necessary to accept unre- 
servedly one tercentenary dictum to the effect that ' ' Few 
decisive battles from Marathon to Waterloo had larger conse- 
quences." Cartier's first voyage to the St. Lawrence decided the 
immediate association of the French with their Algonquian neigh- 
bors. It would have been impossible for them to be friends of 
both Algonquians and Iroquois. The consequences of immediate 
and prolonged hostility on the part of the Algonquians invite 
curious speculation. — [Editor.] 

2^ 



o 

> 

r 

> 

> 

o > 

3 n 

3 

O O 

s: :^ 

?. > 

2. 2: 




A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

they were driven from their homes, and in the frenzy of 
fear fled first to the islands of Lake Huron, then to 
Mackinac and Sault Ste. Marie, finally to the southern 
shores of Lake Superior, and deep within the dark pine 
forests of northern Wisconsin. In the destruction of 
Huronia, several Jesuit missionaries suffered torture and 
death. 

As for the squalid little French settlements at Three 
Rivers, Quebec, and Tadoussac, they soon felt the wrath 
of the Iroquois, who were the fiercest and best-trained 
fighters among the savages of North America. Almost 
annually the war-parties of this dread foe raided the 
lands of the king, not infrequently appearing in force 
before the sharp-pointed paHsades of New France, over 
which were waged bloody battles for supremacy. For- 
tunately logs could turn back a primitive enemy unarmed 
with cannon; but not infrequently outlying parties of 
Frenchmen had sorry experiences with the stealthy foe, 
of whose approach through the tangled forest they had 
no warning. Champlain's closing years were much sad- 
dened by these merciless assaults which he had unwit- 
tingly invited; in the decade after his death the opera- 
tions of his successors were largely hampered thereby. 
Montreal, founded by religious enthusiasts in 1642, dur- 
ing its earliest years served as a buffer colony, in the 
direction of the avenging tribesmen, and supped to the 
dregs the cup of border turmoil. 

Not only were Frenchmen obliged to huddle within 
their defences, but far and near their Indian allies were 
swept from the earth. The Iroquois practically destroyed 
the Algonquin tribes between Quebec and the Saguenay, 
as well as the Algonquins of the Ottawa, the Huron, and 
the Petun and Neutrals of the Niagara district. The fur- 
trade of New France was for a long period almost wholly 
destroyed; English and Dutch rivals to the south were 
friendly to the Iroquois, furnished them cheap goods and 
abundant firearms and ammunition, and egged them on 

29 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

in their northern forays; while toward the Mississippi, 
and south of the Great Lakes, Iroquois raiders terrorized 
those tribes which dared to entertain trade relations with 
the French. 

In 1646, however, the blood-stained confederates, after 
nearly a half-century of opposition, consented to a peace 
which lasted spasmodically for almost twenty years; 
until in 1665 the French government found itself strong 
enough to threaten the chastisement of the New York 
tribesmen, and thereafter the Iroquois opposition, while 
not altogether quelled, was of a far less threatening 
character. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, BETWEEN CHAMPLAIN'S BAT- 
TLE WITH THE IROQUOIS, 1609, 
AND THE CONQUEST OF THE 
PEQUOTS, 1637 

1609. Henry Hudson ascends the Hudson River. 

1 6 10. Henry Hudson explores Hudson Bay. 

1614. The Dutch erect a Fort on Manhattan Island. 

16 19. A colonial assembly is convened at Jamestown. 
Negro slavery is introduced into Virginia. 

1620. Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. 

1622. The Dutch West India Company take possession 
of New Netherlands. Indian massacre in Virginia. 

1623. Settlement of New Hampshire. 

1624. Dissolution of the London Company. Virginia 
becomes a Crown Colony. 

1626. The Dutch purchase Manhattan Island from the 
Indians. 

1628. Settlement of Salem by the Massachusetts Bay 
Company. 

1629. The English take Quebec. 

1630. Foundation of Boston. 

30 



A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

1 63 1. Settlement of Maryland by Clayborne. 

1632. Canada is restored to France- by England. Lord 
Baltimore receives a charter for a colony in Maryland. 

1634. Settlement of St. Mary's, Maryland, by Calvert. 
1634-36. Settlement of Connecticut by the English. 
Settlement of Rhode Island by Roger Williams. 

1636. Foundation of Harvard College. 

1637. Conquest of the Pequots by the New England 
colonists. 



Ill 

THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS, 1637 

IN 1636 the Massachusetts colony, under Vane's ad- 
ministration, became involved in new troubles — a vio- 
lent internal controversy and a dangerous Indian war. 
The most powerful native tribes of New England were 
concentrated in the neighborhood of Narrangansett Bay. 
The Wampanoags, or Pocanokets, were on the east side of 
that bay within the limits of the Plymouth patent, and the 
Narragansets, a more powerful confederacy, on the west 
side. Still more numerous and more powerful were the 
Pequots, whose chief seats were on or near Pequot River, 
now the Thames, but whose authority extended over 
twenty-six petty tribes, along both shores of the Sound to 
the Connecticut River, and even beyond it, almost or quite 
to the Hudson. In what is now the northeast corner of the 
State of Connecticut dwelt a smaller tribe, the enemies, 
perhaps the revolted subjects, of the Pequots, known to 
the colonists as Mohegans — an appropriation of a general 
name properly including all the Indians along the shores 
of Long Island Sound as far west as the Hudson, and even 
the tribes beyond that river, known afterward to the Eng- 
lish as the Delawares. The Indians about Massachusetts 
Bay, supposed to have been formerly quite numerous, 
had almost died out before the arrival of the colonists, and 
the smallpox had since proved very fatal among the few 
that remained. Some tribes of no great consideration — 
the Nipmucks, the Wachusetts, the Nashaways — dwelt 
among the interior hills, and others, known collectively 
to the colonists as the River Indians, fished at the falls of 

32 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS 

the Connecticut, and cultivated little patches of its rich 
alluvial meadows. The lower Merrimac, the Piscataqua, 
and their branches were occupied by the tribes of a con- 
siderable confederacy, that of Penacook, or Pawtucket, 
whose chief sachem, Passaconaway, was reported to be 
a great magician. The interior of New Hampshire and 
of what is now Vermont seems to have been an unin- 
habited wilderness. The tribes eastward of the Piscataqua, 
known to the English by the general name of Tarenteens, 
and reputed to be numerous and powerful, were dis- 
tinguished by the rivers on which they dwelt. They seem 
to have constituted two principal confederacies, those 
east of the Kennebec being known to the French of Acadie 
as the Abenakis. All the New England Indians spoke 
substantially the same language, the Algonquin, in vari- 
ous dialects. From the nature of the country, they were 
more stationary than some other tribes, being fixed prin- 
cipally at the falls of the rivers. They seem to have en- 
tertained very decided ideas of the hereditary descent of 
authority, and of personal devotion to their chiefs. What 
might have been at this time the total Indian population 
of New England it is not very easy to conjecture; but it 
was certainly much less than is commonly stated. Fifteen 
or twenty thousand would seem to be a sufficient allow- 
ance for the region south of the Piscataqua, and as many 
more, perhaps, for the more easterly district. The Pe- 
quots, esteemed the most powerful tribe in New England, 
were totally ruined, as we shall presently see, by the 
destruction or capture of hardly more than a thousand 
persons. 

The provocation for this exterminating war was ex- 
tremely small. Previous to the Massachusetts migra- 
tion to the Connecticut, one Captain Stone, the drunken 
and dissolute master of. a small trading vessel from Vir- 
ginia, whom the Plymouth people charged with having 
been engaged at Manhattan in a piratical plot to seize 
one of their vessels, having been sent away from Boston 

33 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

with orders not to return without leave, under pain of 
death, on his way homeward to Virginia, in 1634, had en- 
tered the Connecticut River, where he was cut off, with 
his whole company, seven in number, by a band of 
Pequots. There were various stories, none of them au- 
thentic, as to the precise manner of his death, but the 
Pequots insisted that he had been the aggressor — a thing 
in itself sufficiently probable. As Stone belonged to Vir- 
ginia, the magistrates of Massachusetts wTote to Governor 
Harvey to move him to stir in the matter. Van Cuyler, 
the Dutch commissary at Fort Good Hope, in fact re- 
venged Stone's death by the execution of a sachem and 
several others. This offended the Pequots, who re- 
nounced any further traffic with the Dutch, and sent 
messengers to Boston desiring an intercourse of trade, and 
assistance to settle their pending difficulties with the 
Narragansets, who intervened between them and the 
English settlements. They even promised to give up — at 
least so the magistrates understood them — the only two 
survivors, as they alleged, of those concerned in the death 
of Stone. These offers were accepted; for the conven- 
ience of this traffic a peace was negotiated between the 
Pequots and the Narragansets, and a vessel was presently 
sent to open a trade. But this traffic disappointed the 
adventurers; nor were the promised culprits given up. 
The Pequots, according to the Indian custom, tendered, 
instead, a present of furs and wampum. But this was 
refused, the colonists seeming to think themselves under 
a religious obligation to avenge blood with blood. 

Thus matters remained for a year or two, when, in 
July, 1636, the crew of a small bark, returning from Con- 
necticut, saw close to Block Island a pinnace at anchor, 
and full of Indians. This pinnace was recognized as be- 
longing to Oldham, the Indian trader, the old settler at 
Nantasket, and explorer of the Connecticut. Conjectur- 
ing that something must be wrong, the bark approached 
the pinnace and hailed, whereupon the Indians on board 

34 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS 

slipped the cable and made sail. The bark gave chase, 
and soon overtook the pinnace; some of the Indians 
jumped overboard in their fright, and were drowned; 
several were killed, and one was made prisoner. The 
dead body of Oldham was found on board, covered with 
an old seine. This murder, as appeared from the testi- 
mony of the prisoner, who was presently sentenced by the 
Massachusetts magistrates to be a slave for life, was 
committed at the instigation of some Narraganset chiefs, 
upon whom Block Island was dependent, in revenge 
for the trade which Oldham had commenced under the 
late treaty with the Pequots, their enemies. Indeed, all 
the Narraganset chiefs, except the head sachem, Canoni- 
cus, and his nephew and colleague, Miantonimoh, were 
believed to have had a hand in this matter, especially the 
chieftain of the Niantics, a branch of the Narragansets, 
inhabiting the continent opposite Block Island. 

Canonicus, in great alarm, sent to his friend and neigh- 
bor, Roger Williams, by whose aid he wrote a letter to 
the Massachusetts magistrates, expressing his grief at 
what had happened, and stating that Miantonimoh had 
sailed already with seventeen canoes and two hundred 
warriors to pimish the Block Islanders. With this letter 
were sent two Indians, late sailors on board Oldham's 
pinnace, and presently after two English boys, the re- 
mainder of his crew. In the recapture of Oldham's pin- 
nace eleven Indians had been killed, several of them 
chiefs; and that, with the restoration of the crew, seems 
to have been esteemed by Canonicus a sufficient atone- 
ment for Oldham's death. But the magistrates and min- 
isters of Massachusetts, assembled to take this matter 
into consideration, thought otherwise. Volunteers were 
called for in August, 1636; and four companies, ninety 
men in all, commanded by Endicott, whose submissive- 
ness in Williams' affair had restored him to favor, were 
embarked in three pinnaces, with orders to put to death 
all the men of Block Island, and to make the women and 

35 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

children prisoners. The old affair of the death of Stone 
was now also called to mind, though the murder of Old- 
ham had no connection with it, except in some distant 
similarity of circumstances. Endicott was instructed, on 
his return from Block Island, to go to the Pequots, and to 
demand of them the murderers of Stone, and a thousand 
fathoms of wampum for damages — equivalent to from 
three to five thousand dollars — also, some of their chil- 
dren as hostages; and, if they refused, to employ force. 

The Block Islanders fled inland, hid themselves, and 
escaped; but Endicott burned their wigwams, staved 
their canoes, and destroyed their standing corn. He 
then -sailed to Fort Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connect- 
icut, and marched thence to Pequot River. After some 
parley, the Indians refused his demands, when he burned 
their village and killed one of their warriors. Marching 
back to the Connecticut River, he inflicted like vengeance 
on the Pequot village there, whence he returned to Boston, 
after a three weeks' absence and without the loss of a 
man. 

The Pequots, enraged at what they esteemed a treach- 
erous and unprovoked attack, lurked about Fort Say- 
brook, killed or took several persons, and did consider- 
able mischief. They sent, also, to the Narragansets to 
engage their alliance against the colonists, whom they 
represented as the common enemy of all the Indians. 
Williams, informed of this negotiation, sent word of it to 
the Massachusetts magistrates, and, at their request, he 
visited Canonicus, to dissuade him from joining the Pe- 
quots. This mission was not without danger. In the 
wigwam of Canonicus, Williams encountered the Pequot 
messengers, full of rage and fury. He succeeded, how- 
ever, in his object, and, in October, Miantonimoh was in- 
duced to visit Boston, where, being received with much 
ceremony by the governor and magistrates, he agreed to 
act with them as a faithful ally. Canonicus thought it 
would be necessary to attack the Pequots with a very 

36 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS 

large force; but he recommended, as a thing likely to be 
agreeable to all the Indians — so Williams informs us — 
that the women and children should be spared, a humane 
piece of advice which received in the end but little 
attention. 

The policy of this war, or, at least, the wisdom of En- 
dicott's conduct, was not universally conceded. A letter 
from Plymouth reproached the Massachusetts magistrates 
with the dangers likely to arise from so inefficient an at- 
tack upon the Pequots. Gardiner, the commandant at 
Fort Saybrook, who lost several men during the winter, 
was equally dissatisfied. The new settlers up the Con- 
necticut complained bitterly of the dangers to which they 
were exposed. Sequeen, the same Indian chief at whose 
invitation the Plymouth people had first established a 
trading-house on the Connecticut River, had granted land 
to the planters at Wethersfield on condition that he might 
settle near them, and be protected; but when he came 
and built his wigwam, they had driven him away. He 
took this opportunity for revenge by calling in the Pe- 
quots, who attacked the town, and killed nine of the in- 
habitants. The whole number killed by the Pequots 
during the winter was about thirty. 

In December a special session of the General Court of 
Massachusetts organized the militia into three regiments, 
the magistrates to appoint the field officers — called ser- 
geant-majors — and to select the captains and lieutenants 
out of a nomination to be made by the companies re- 
spectively. Watches were ordered to be kept, and 
travellers were to go armed. . . . 

The new towns on the Connecticut had continued to 
suffer during the winter. The attack on Wethersfield 
has been mentioned already. Fort Saybrook was be- 
leaguered; several colonists were killed, and two young 
girls were taken prisoners, but were presently redeemed 
and sent home by some Dutch traders. It had been re- 
solved in Massachusetts to raise a hundred and sixty men 

37 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

for the war, and already Underhill had been sent, with 
twenty men, to reinforce Fort Saybrook; but, during 
Vane's administration, these preparations had been re- 
tarded — not from any misgivings as to the justice of the 
war, but because the army "was too much under a 
covenant of works." The expedition was now got ready, 
and, by a "solemn public invocation of the word of 
God," a leader was designated by lot from among three 
of the magistrates set apart for that purpose. The lot 
fell on Stoughton, whose adherence to the orthodox party 
during the late dissensions had restored him to favor, and 
obtained for him, at the late election, one of the vacant 
magistrates' seats. Wilson was also designated by lot 
as chaplain to the expedition. The people of Plymouth 
agreed to furnish forty-five men. 

The decisive battle, however, had been already fought. 
The Connecticut towns, impatient of delay, having ob- 
tained the alliance of Uncas, sachem of the Mohegans, 
had marched, to the ntmiber of ninety men, almost their 
entire effective force, under the command of John Mason, 
bred a soldier in the Netherlands, whom Hooker, on May 
lo, with prayers and religious ceremonies, solemnly in- 
vested with the staff of command. After a night spent 
in prayer, this little army, joined by Uncas with sixty 
Indians, and accompanied by Stone, Hooker's colleague, 
as chaplain, embarked at Hartford. They were not with- 
out great doubts as to their Indian allies, but were re- 
assured at Fort Saybrook. While Stone was praying "for 
one pledge of love, that may confirm us of the fidelity of 
the Indians," these allies cam.e in with five Pequot scalps 
and a prisoner. Underhill joined with his twenty men, 
and the united forces proceeded by water to Narragan- 
sett Bay, where they spent Sunday, May 21, in religious 
exercises. They were further strengthened by Mian- 
tonimoh and two hundred Narraganset warriors; but the 
English force seemed so inadequate that many of the 
Narragansets became discouraged and returned home. 

38 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS 

The Pequots were principally collected a few miles 
east of Pequot River, now the Thames, in two forts, or 
villages, fortified with trees and brushwood. After a fa- 
tiguing march of two days, Mason reached one of these 
strongholds, situated on a high hill, at no great distance 
from the sea-shore. He encamped a few hours to rest 
his men, but marched again before daybreak, and at 
early dawn approached the fort. The Pequots had seen 
the vessels pass along the sea-shore toward the bay of 
Narragansett, and, supposing the hostile forces afraid to 
attack them, they had spent the night in feasting and 
dancing, and Mason could hear their shoutings in his 
camp. Toward morning they sunk into a deep sleep, 
from which they were roused by the barking of their 
dogs, as the colonists, in two parties, approached the fort, 
one led by Mason, the other by Underbill, both of whom 
have left us narratives of the battle. The assailants 
poured in a fire of musketry, and, after a moment's hesi- 
tation, forced their way into the fort. Within were 
thickly clustered wigwams containing the families of the 
Indians, and what remained of their winter stores. The 
astonished Pequots seized their weapons and fought with 
desperation; but what could their clubs and arrows avail 
against the muskets and plate-armor of the colonists? 
Yet there was danger in the great superiority of their 
numbers, and Mason, crying out "we must burn them," 
thrust a firebrand among the mats with which the wig- 
wams were covered. Almost in a moment the fort was 
in a blaze. The colonists, "bereaved of pity and with- 
out compassion," so Underbill himself declares, kept up 
the fight within the fort, while their Indian allies, form- 
ing a circle aroimd, struck down every Pequot who at- 
tempted to escape. No quarter was given, no mercy 
was shown; some hundreds, not warriors only, but old 
men, women, and children, perished by the weapons of the 
colonists, or in the flames of the burning fort. "Great 
and doleful," says Underbill, "was the bloody sight to 

39 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the view of young soldiers, to see so many souls lie gasp- 
ing on the ground, so thick you could hardly pass along." 
The fact that only seven prisoners were taken, while 
Mason boasts that only seven others escaped, evinces the 
unrelenting character of this massacre, which was accom- 
plished with but trifling loss, only two of the colonists 
being killed, and sixteen or twenty wounded. Yet the 
victors were not without embarrassments. The morn- 
ing was hot, there was no water to be had, and the men, 
exhausted by their long march the two days before, the 
weight of their armor, want of sleep, and the sharpness 
of the late action, must now encounter a new body of 
Pequots from the other village, who had taken the alarm, 
and were fast 'approaching. Mason, with a select party, 
kept this new^ enemy at bay, and thus gave time to the 
main body to push on for Pequot River, into which some 
vessels had just been seen to enter. When the Indians 
approached the hill where their fort had stood, at sight 
of their ruined habitations and slaughtered companions 
they burst out into a transport of rage, stamped on the 
ground, tore their hair, and, regardless of everything 
save revenge, rushed furious in pursuit. But the dreaded 
firearms soon checked them, and Mason easily made 
good his retreat to Pequot harbor, now New London, 
where he found not only his own vessels, but Captain Pat- 
rick also, just arrived in a bark from Boston, with forty 
men. Mason sent the wounded and most of his forces 
by water, but, in consequence of Patrick's refusal to lend 
his ship, was obliged to march himself, with twenty men, 
followed by Patrick, to Fort Saybrook, where his victory 
was greeted by a salvo of cannon. 

In about a fortnight Stoughton arrived at Saybrook 
with the main body of the Massachusetts forces. Mason, 
with forty Connecticut soldiers and a large body of Nar- 
ragansets, joined also in pursuing the remnants of the 
enemy. The Pequots had abandoned their country, or 
concealed themselves in the swamps. In July one of 

40 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS 

these fortresses was attacked by night, and about a hun- 
dred Indians captured. The men, twenty-two in num- 
ber, were put to death; thirty women and children were 
given to the Narraganset allies; some fifty others were 
sent to Boston, and distributed as slaves amoiig the prin- 
cipal colonists. The flying Pequots were pursued as far 
as Quinapiack, now New Haven. A swamp in that 
neighborhood, where a large party had taken refuge, being 
surrounded and attacked, a parley was had, and life was 
offered to "all whose hands were not in English blood." 
About two hundred, old men, women, and children, re- 
luctantly came out and gave themselves up. Daylight 
was exhausted in this surrender; and as night set in, 
the warriors who remained renewed their defiances. 
Toward morning, favored by a thick fog, they broke 
through and escaped. Many of the surviving Pequots 
put themselves under the protection of Canonicus and 
other Narraganset chiefs. Sassacus, the head sachem, 
fled to the Mohawks; but they were instigated by their 
allies, the Narragansets, to put him to death. His scalp 
was sent to Boston, and many heads and hands of Pe- 
quot warriors were also brought in by the neighboring 
tribes. The adult male prisoners who remained in the 
hands of the colonists were sent to the West Indies to be 
sold into slavery; the women and children experienced 
a similar fate at home. It was reckoned that between 
eight and nine hundred of the Pequots had been killed 
or taken. Such of the survivors as had escaped, for- 
bidden any longer to call themselves Pequots, were dis- 
tributed between the Narragansets and Mohegans, and 
subjected to an annual tribute. A like tribute was im- 
posed, also, on the inhabitants of Block Island. The 
colonists regarded their success as ample proof of Divine 
approbation, and justified all they had done to these 
"bloody heathen" by abundant quotations from the Old 
Testament. Having referred to "the wars of David," 
Underhill adds, "We had sufficient light from the word 

41 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

of God for our proceedings"; and Mason, after some ex- 
ulting quotations from the Psalms, concludes: "Thus 
the Lord was pleased to smite our enemies in the hinder 
parts, and to give us their land for an inheritance!" 
The Indian allies admired the courage of the colonists, 
but they thought their method of war "too furious, and 
to slay too many." 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, BETWEEN THE CONQUEST OF 
THE PEQUOTS, 1637, AND THE DE- 
FEAT OF KING PHILIP, 1676 

1638. Settlement of Rhode Island. Establishment of 
the Colony of New Haven. Swedes and Finns settle 
in Delaware. 

1639. Adoption of the Connecticut Constitution. 

1642. War between Charles I. and Parliament. In- 
decisive Battle of Edgehill. 

1643. The Colonies of New England form a confederacy. 

1644. Battle of Marston Moor, in which the English 
Royalists are defeated. Roger Williams obtains a patent 
from Parliament for the United Government of the 
Rhode Island Settlements. 

1645. Defeat of the English Royalists at the Battle of 
Naseby. 

1649. Execution of Charles I. 

1653. Cromwell is made Lord Protector of England. 

1655. Peter Stuyvesant, Director-General of New 
Netherlands, dispossesses the Swedish settlers at the 
mouth of the Delaware. 

1660. Restoration of the Stuarts in England. 

1662. The Connecticut and New Haven Colonies re- 
ceive a charter from Charles II. 

1664. Charles II. grants the region between the Con- 
necticut and Delaware rivers to his brother James, Duke 

42 



THE CONQUEST OF THE PEQUOTS 

of York. The English occupy New Amsterdam and take 
possession of the province of New Netherland. The 
Colony of New Jersey is established. 

1665. The union of the Connecticut and New Haven 
Colonies is completed. 

1668. Father Marquette founds the Mission of Sault 
Ste. Marie. 

1670. Incorporation of the Hudson Bay Company. 

1673. The Dutch occupy New York and New Jersey. 

1674. New York and New Jer.sey are restored to the 
English. 

1675. King Philip's War. 



IV 

THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP, 1676 

EXCEPT in the destruction of the Pequots, the native 
tribes of New England had, in 1673, undergone no 
very material diminution. The Pocanokets, or Wam- 
panoags, though somewhat curtailed in their limits, still 
occupied the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay. The 
Narragansets still possessed the western shore. There 
were several scattered tribes in various parts of Con- 
necticut; though, with the exception of some small 
reservations, they had already ceded all their lands. 
Uncas, the Mohegan chief, was now an old man. The 
Pawtucket, or Penacook, confederacy continued to oc- 
cupy the falls of the Merrimac and the heads of the Pis- 
cataqua. Their old sachem, Passaconaway, regarded 
the colonists with awe and veneration. In the interior of 
Massachusetts and along the Connecticut were several 
other less noted tribes. The Indians of Maine and the 
region eastward possessed their ancient haunts undis- 
turbed; but their intercourse was principally with the 
French, to whom, since the late peace with France, Acadie 
had been again yielded up. The New England Indians 
were, occasionally annoyed by war parties of Mohawks; 
but, by the intervention of Massachusetts, a peace had 
recently been concluded. 

Efforts for the conversion and civilization of the Ind- 
ians were still continued by Eliot and his coadjutors, 
supported by the funds of the English society. In Mas- 
sachusetts there were fourteen feeble villages of these 
praying Indians, and a few more in Plymouth colony. 

44 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

The whole number in New England was about thirty- 
six hundred, but of these near one -half inhabited the 
islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. 

Massachusetts held a strict hand over the Narragansets 
and other subject tribes, and their limits had been con- 
tracted by repeated cessions, not always entirely volun- 
tary. The Wampanoags, within the jurisdiction of 
Plymouth, experienced similar treatment. By successive 
sales of parts of their territory, they were now shut up, 
as it were, in the necks or peninsulas formed by the 
northern and eastern branches of Narragansett Bay, the 
same territory now constituting the continental eastern 
portion of Rhode Island. Though always at peace with 
the colonists, the Wampanoags had not always escaped 
suspicion. The increase of the settlements around 
them, and the progressive curtailment of their limits, 
aroused their jealousy. They were galled, also, by the 
feudal superiority, similar to that of Massachusetts over 
her dependent tribes, claimed by Plymouth on the 
strength of certain alleged former submissions. None 
felt this assumption more keenly than Pometacom, head 
chief of the Wampanoags, better known among the 
colonists as King Philip of Mount Hope, nephew and suc- 
cessor of that Massasoit who had welcomed the Pilgrims 
to Plymouth. Suspected of hostile designs, he had been 
compelled to deliver up his firearms, and to enter into 
certain stipulations. These stipulations he was accused 
of not fulfilling; and nothing but the interposition of the 
Massachusetts magistrates, to whom Philip appealed, 
prevented Plymouth from making war upon him. He 
was sentenced instead to pay a heavy fine, and to ac- 
knowledge the unconditional supremacy of that colony. 

A praying Indian, who had been educated at Cambridge 
and employed as a teacher, upon some misdemeanor had 
fled to Philip, who took him into service as a sort of sec- 
retary. Being persuaded to return again to his former 
employment, this Indian accused Philip anew of being 

45 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

engaged in a secret hostile plot. In accordance with 
Indian ideas, the treacherous informer was waylaid and 
killed. Three of Philip's men, suspected of having killed 
him, were arrested by the Plymouth authorities, and, in 
accordance with English ideas, were tried for murder by 
a jury half English, half Indians, convicted upon very 
slender evidence, and hanged. Philip retaliated by plun- 
dering the houses nearest Mount Hope. Presently he 
attacked Swanzey, and killed several of the inhabitants. 
Plymouth took measures for raising a military force. 
The neighboring colonies were sent to for assistance. 
Thus, by the impulse of suspicion on the one side and 
passion on the other, New England became suddenly en- 
gaged in a war very disastrous to the colonists, and ut- 
terly ruinous to the native tribes. The lust of gain, in 
spite of all laws to prevent it, had partially furnished the 
Indians with firearms, and they were now far more for- 
midable enemies than they had been in the days of the 
Pequots. Of this the colonists hardly seem to have 
thought. Now, as then, confident of their superiority, 
and comparing themselves to the Lord's chosen people 
driving the heathen out of the land, they rushed eagerly 
into the contest, without a single effort at the preserva- 
tion of peace. Indeed, their pretensions hardly admitted 
of it. Philip was denounced as a rebel in arms against 
his lawful superiors, with whom it would be folly and weak- 
ness to treat on any terms short of absolute submission. 

A body of volunteers, horse and foot, raised in Massa- 
chusetts, marched under Major Savage, in June, 1675, 
four days after the attack on Swanzey, to join the Plym- 
outh forces. After one or two slight skirmishes, they 
penetrated to the Wampanoag villages at Mount Hope, 
but found them empty and deserted. Philip and his 
warriors, conscious of their inferiority, had abandoned 
their homes. If the Narragansets, on the opposite side 
of the bay, did not openly join the Wampanoags, they 
would, at least, be likely to afford shelter to their women 

46 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

and children. The troops were therefore ordered into 
the Narraganset country, accompanied by commissioners 
to demand assurances of peaceful intentions, and a prom- 
ise to deliver up all fugitive enemies of the colonists — 
pledges which the Narragansets felt themselves con- 
strained to give. 

Arrived at Taunton on their return from the Narra- 
ganset country, news came that Philip and his warriors 
had been discovered by Church, of Plymouth colony, col- 
lected in a great swamp at Pocasset, now Tiverton, the 
southern district of the Wampanoag country, whence 
small parties sallied forth to burn and plunder the neigh- 
boring settlements. After a march of eighteen miles, 
having reached the designated spot, the soldiers found 
there a hundred wigwams lately built, but empty and de- 
serted, the Indians having retired deep into the swamp. 
The colonists followed; but the ground was soft; the 
thicket was difficult to penetrate; the companies were 
soon thrown into disorder. Each man fired at every 
bush he saw shake, thinking an Indian might lay con- 
cealed behind it, and several were thus wounded by their 
own friends. When night came on, the assailants retired 
with the loss of sixteen men. The swamp continued to 
be watched and guarded, but Philip broke through, not 
without some loss, and escaped into the country of the 
Nipmucks, in the interior of Massachusetts. That tribe 
had already commenced hostilities by attacking Mendon. 
They waylaid and killed Captain Hutchinson, a son of 
the famous Mrs. Hutchinson, and sixteen out of a party 
of twenty sent from Boston to Brookfield to parley with 
them. Attacking Brookfield itself, they burned it, ex- 
cept one fortified house. The inhabitants were saved 
by Major Willard, who, on information of their danger, 
came with a troop of horse from Lancaster, thirty miles 
through the woods, to their rescue. A body of troops 
presently arrived from the eastward, and were stationed 
for some time at Brookfield. 
4 47 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The colonists now found that by driving Philip to ex- 
tremity they had roused a host of unexpected enemies. 
The River Indians, anticipating an intended attack upon 
them, joined the assailants. Deerfield and Northfield, 
the northernmost towns on the Connecticut River, set- 
tled within a few years past, were attacked, and sev- 
eral of the inhabitants killed and wounded. Captain 
Beers, sent from Hadley to their relief with a convoy of 
provisions, was surprised near Northfield in September, 
and slain, with twenty of his men. Northfield was aban- 
doned, and burned by the Indians. 

"The English at first," says Gookin, "thought easily 
to chastise the insolent doings and murderous practice 
of the heathen; but it was found another manner of 
thing than was expected ; for our men could see no enem}^ 
to shoot at, but yet felt their bullets out of the thick 
bushes where they lay in ambush. The English wanted 
not courage or resolution, but could not discover nor find 
an enemy to fight with, yet were galled by the enemy." 
In the arts of ambush and surprise, with which the Ind- 
ians were so familiar, the colonists were without prac- 
tice. It is to the want of this experience, purchased at 
a very dear rate in the course of the war, that we must 
ascribe the numerous surprises and defeats from which 
the colonists suffered at its commencement. 

Driven to the necessity of defensive warfare, those in 
command on the river determined to establish a maga- 
zine and garrison at Hadley. Captain Lathrop, who 
had been dispatched from the eastward to the assistance 
of the river towns, was sent with eighty men, the flower 
of the youth of Essex County, to guard the wagons in- 
tended to convey to Hadley three thousand bushels of 
unthreshed wheat, the produce of the fertile Deerfield 
meadows. Just before arriving at Deerfield, near a small 
stream still known as Bloody Brook, under the shadow 
of the abrupt conical Sugar Loaf, the southern termina- 
tion of the Deerfield mountain, Lathrop, on September 

48 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

1 8, fell into an ambush, and, after a brave resistance, 
perished there with all his company. Captain Moseley, 
stationed at Deerfield, marched to his assistance, but ar- 
rived too late to help him. Deerfield was abandoned, 
and burned by the Indians. Springfield, about the same 
time, was set on fire, but was partially saved by the 
arrival, with troops from Connecticut, of Major Treat, 
successor to the lately deceased Mason in the chief com- 
mand of the Connecticut forces. An attack on Hatfield 
was vigorously repelled by the garrison. 

Meanwhile, hostilities were spreading; the Indians on 
the Merrimac began to attack the towns in their vicinity, 
and the whole of Massachusetts was soon in the utmost 
alarm. Except in the immediate neighborhood of Bos- 
ton, the country still remained an immense forest dotted 
by a few openings. The frontier settlements could not be 
defended against a foe familiar with localities, scattered 
in small parties, skilful in concealment, and watching 
with patience for some unguarded or favorable moment. 
Those settlements were mostly broken up, and the in- 
habitants, retiring toward Boston, spread everywhere 
dread and intense hatred of "the bloody heathen." Even 
the praying Indians, and the small dependent and tribu- 
tary tribes, became objects of suspicion and terror. They 
had been employed at first as scouts and auxiliaries, and 
to good advantage; but some few, less confirmed in the 
faith, having deserted to the enemy, the whole body of 
them were denounced as traitors. Eliot the apostle, and 
Gookin, superintendent of the subject Indians, exposed 
themselves to insults, and even to danger, by their efforts 
to stem this headlong fury, to which several of the magis- 
trates opposed but a feeble resistance. Troops were sent 
to break up the praying villages at Mendon, Grafton, and 
others in that quarter. The Natick Indians, "those poor 
despised sheep of Christ," as Gookin affectionately calls 
them, were hurried off to Deer Island, in Boston harbor, 
where they suffered excessively from a severe winter. A 

49 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

part of the praying Indians of Plymouth colony were 
confined, in like manner, on the islands in Plymouth 
harbor. 

Not content with realities sufficiently frightful, super- 
stition, as usual, added bugbears of her own. Indian 
bows were seen in the sky, and scalps in the moon. The 
northern lights became an object of terror. Phantom 
horsemen careered among the clouds or were heard to 
gallop invisible through the air. The howling of wolves 
was turned into a terrible omen. The war was regarded 
as a special judgment in pimishment of prevailing sins. 
Among these sins, the General Court of Massachusetts, 
after consultation with the elders, enumerated neglect 
in the training of the children of church-members; pride, 
in men's wearing long and curled hair; excess in apparel; 
naked breasts and arms, and superfluous ribbons; the 
toleration of Quakers; hurry to leave meeting before 
blessing asked; profane cursing and swearing; tippling- 
houses; want of respect for parents; idleness; extortion 
in shopkeepers and mechanics; and the riding from 
town to town of unmarried men and women, under pre- 
tence of attending lectures — "a sinful custom, tending 
to lewdness." Penalties were denounced against all these 
offences; and the persecution of the Quakers was again 
renewed. A Quaker woman had recently frightened the 
Old South congregation in Boston by entering that meet- 
ing-house clothed in sackcloth, with ashes on her head, 
her feet bare, and her face blackened, intending to per- 
sonify the smallpox, with which she threatened the 
colony, in punishment for its sins. 

About the time of the first collision with Philip, the 
Tarenteens, or Eastern Indians, had attacked the settle- 
ments in Maine and New Hampshire, plundering and 
burning the houses, and massacring such of the inhab- 
itants as fell into their hands. This sudden diffusion of 
hostilities and vigor of attack from opposite quarters 
made the colonists believe that Philip had long been plot- 
So 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

ting and had gradually matured an extensive conspiracy, 
into which most of the tribes had deliberately entered, 
for the extermination of the whites. This belief infuri- 
ated the colonists, and suggested some very questionable 
proceedings. It seems, however, to have originated, like 
the war itself, from mere suspicions. The same griefs 
pressed upon all the tribes; and the struggle once com- 
menced, the awe which the colonists inspired thrown off, 
the greater part were ready to join in the contest. But 
there is no evidence of any deliberate concert; nor, in 
fact, were the Indians united. Had they been so, the 
war would have been far more serious. The Connecti- 
cut tribes proved faithful, and that colony remained im- 
touched. Uncas and Ninigret continued friendly; even 
the Narragansets, in spite of so many former provo- 
cations, had not yet taken up arms. But they were 
strongly suspected of intention to do so, and were ac- 
cused by Uncas of giving, notwithstanding their recent 
assurances, aid and shelter to the hostile tribes. 

An attempt had lately been made to revive the union 
of the New England colonies. At a meeting of commis- 
sioners, on September 9, 1675, those from Plymouth pre- 
sented a narrative of the origin and progress of the pres- 
ent hostilities. Upon the strength of this narrative the 
war was pronounced "just and necessary," and a reso- 
lution was passed to carry it on at the joint expense, and 
to raise for that purpose a thousand men, one-half to be 
mounted dragoons. If the Narragansets were not crushed 
during the winter, it was feared they might break out 
openly hostile in the spring ; and at a subsequent meeting 
a thousand men were ordered to be levied to co-operate 
in an expedition specially against them. 

The winter was unfavorable to the Indians; the leaf- 
less woods no longer concealed their lurking attacks. 
The frozen surface of the swamps made the Indian fast- 
nesses accessible to the colonists. The forces destined to 
act against the Narragansets — six companies from Mas- 

51 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

sachusetts, under Major Appleton; two from Plymouth, 
under Major Bradford; and five from Connecticut, un- 
der Major Treat — were placed under the command of 
Josiah Winslow, Governor of Plymouth since Prince's 
death — son of that Edward Winslow so conspicuous in 
the earlier history of the colony. In December the 
Massachusetts and Plymouth forces marched to Peta- 
squamscot, on the west shore of Narragansett Bay, where 
they made some forty prisoners. Being joined by the 
troops from Connecticut, and guided by an Indian de- 
serter, after a march of fifteen miles through a deep snow, 
they approached a swamp in what is now the town of 
South Kingston, one of the ancient strongholds of the 
Narragansets. Driving the Indian scouts before them, 
and penetrating the swamp, the colonial soldiers soon 
came in sight of the Indian fort, built on a rising ground 
in the morass, a sort of island of two or three acres, for- 
tified by a palisade, and surrounded by a close hedge a 
rod thick. There was but one entrance, quite narrow, 
de!^ended by a tree thrown across it, with a block-house 
of logs in front and another on the flank. It was the 
"Lord's day," but that did not hinder the attack. As 
the captains advanced at the heads of their companies, 
the Indians opened a galling fire, under which many fell. 
But the assailants pressed on, and forced the entrance. 
A desperate struggle ensued. The colonists were once 
driven back, but they rallied and returned to the charge, 
and, after a two hours' fight, became masters of the fort. 
Fire was put to the wigwams, near six hundred in number, 
and all the horrors of the Pequot massacre were renewed. 
The corn and other winter stores of the Indians were 
consumed, and not a few of the old men, women, and chil- 
dren perished in the flames. In this bloody contest, long 
remembered as the " vSwamp Fight," the colonial loss was 
terribly severe. Six captains, with two hundred and 
thirty men, were killed or wounded; and at night, in the 
midst of a snow-storm; with a fifteen miles' march before 

52 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

them, the colonial soldiers abandoned the fort, of which 
the Indians resumed possession. But their w'gwams were 
burned ; their provisions destroyed ; they had no supplies 
for the winter; their loss was irreparable. Of those who 
survived the fight, many perished of hunger. 

Even as a question of policy, this attack on the Nar- 
ragansets was more than doubtful. The starving and in- 
furiated warriors, scattered through the woods, revenged 
themselves by attacks on the frontier settlements. On 
February lo, 1676, Lancaster was burned, and forty of 
the inhabitants killed or taken; among the rest, Mrs. 
Rolandson, wife of the minister, the narrative of whose 
captivity is still preserved. Groton, Chelmsford, and 
other towns in that vicinity were repeatedly attacked. 
Medfield, twenty miles from Boston, was furiously as- 
saulted, and, though defended by three hundred men, 
half the houses were burned. Weymouth, within eighteen 
miles of Boston, was attacked a few days after. These 
were the nearest approaches which the Indians made to 
that capital. For a time the neighborhood of the Nar- 
raganset country was abandoned. The Rhode Island 
towns, though they had no part in undertaking the war, 
yet suffered the consequences of it. In March, Warwick 
was burned, and Providence was partially destroyed. 
Most of the inhabitants sought refuge in the islands, 
but the aged Roger Williams accepted a commission as 
captain for the defence of the town he had founded. 
Walter Clarke was presently chosen governor in Cod- 
dington's place, the times not suiting a Quaker chief 
magistrate. 

The whole colony of Plymouth was overrun. Houses 
were burned in almost every town, but the inhabitants, 
for the most part, saved themselves in their garrisons, a 
shelter with which all the towns now found it necessary 
to be provided. On March 26 Captain Pierce, with 
fifty men and some friendly Indians, while endeavoring 
to cover the Plymouth towns, fell into an ambush and 

53 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

was cut off. That same day, Marlborough was set on fire; 
two days after Rehoboth was burned. The Indians seem- 
ed to be everywhere. On April i8 Captain Wadsworth, 
marching to the relief of Sudbury, fell into an ambush, 
and perished with fifty men. The alarm and terror of 
the colonists reached again a great height. But affairs 
were about to take a turn. The resources of the Indians 
were exhausted; they were now making their last efforts. 

A body of Connecticut volunteers, under Captain Den- 
ison, and of Mohegan and other friendly Indians, Pe- 
quots and Niantics, swept the entire country of the Nar- 
ragansets, who suffered, as spring advanced, the last ex- 
tremities of famine. Canon chet. the chief sachem, said 
to have been a son of Miantonimoh, but probably his 
nephew, had ventured to his old haunts to procure seed- 
corn with which to plant the rich intervals on the Con- 
necticut, abandoned by the colonists. Taken prisoner, 
he, conducted himself with all that haughty firmness es- 
teemed by the Indians the height of magnanimity. Being 
offered his life on condition of bringing about a peace, 
he scorned the proposal. His tribe would perish to the 
last man rather than become servants to the English. 
When ordered to prepare for death, he replied, "I like 
it well; I shall die before my heart is soft, or I shall 
have spoken anything unworthy of myself." Two Ind- 
ians were appointed to shoot him, and his head was cut 
off and sent to Hartford. 

The colonists had suffered severely. Men, women, 
and children had perished by the bullets of the Indians, 
or fled naked through the wintry woods by the light of 
their blazing houses, leaving their goods and cattle a 
spoil to the assailants. Several settlements had been de- 
stroyed, and many more had been abandoned; but the 
oldest and wealthiest remained untouched. The Indians, 
on the other hand, had neither provisions nor ammuni- 
tion. On May 12, while attempting to plant corn and 
catch fish at Montague Falls, on the Connecticut River, 

54 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

they were attacked with great slaughter by the garrison 
of the lower towns, led by Captain Turner, a Boston Bap- 
tist, and at first refused a commission on that account, 
but as danger increased, pressed to accept it. Yet this 
enterprise was not without its drawbacks. As the troops 
returned, Captain Turner fell into an ambush and was 
slain, with thirty-eight men. Hadley was attacked on a 
lecture day, June 12, while the people were at meeting; 
but the Indians were repulsed by the bravery of Goffe, 
one of the fugitive regicides, long concealed in that town. 
Seeing this venerable unknown man come to their rescue, 
and then suddenly disappear, the inhabitants took him 
for an angel. 

Major Church, at the head of a body of two hundred 
volunteers, English and Indians, energetically hunted 
down the hostile bands in Plymouth colony. The interior 
tribes about Mount Wachusett were invaded and sub- 
dued by a force of six hundred men, raised for that pur- 
pose. Many fled to the north to find refuge in Canada — 
guides and leaders, in after years, of those French and 
Indian war parties by which the frontiers of New Eng- 
land were so terribly harassed. Just a year after the fast 
at the commencement of the war, a thanksgiving was 
observed for success in it. 

No longer sheltered by the River Indians, who now be- 
gan to make their peace, and even attacked by bands of 
the Mohawks, Philip returned to his own country, about 
Mount Hope, where he was still faithfully supported by 
his female confederate and relative, Witamo, squaw- 
sachem of Pocasset. Punham, also, the Shawomet vassal 
of Massachusetts, still zealously carried on the war, but 
was presently killed. Philip was watched and followed 
by Church, who surprised his camp on August ist, killed 
upward of a hundred of his people, and took prisoners his 
wife and boy. The disposal of this child was a subject 
of much delberation. Several -of the elders were urgent 
for putting him to death. It was finally resolved to send 

55 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

him to Bermuda, to be sold into slaver}^ — a fate to which 
many other of the Indian captives were subjected. Wit- 
amo shared the disasters of Philip. Most of her people 
were killed or taken. She herself was drowned while 
crossing a river in her flight ; but her body was recovered, 
and the head, cut off, was stuck upon a pole at Taunton, 
amid the jeers and scoffs of the colonial soldiers, and the 
tears and lamentations of the Indian prisoners. 

Philip still lurked in the swamps, but was now re- 
duced to extremity. Again attacked by Church, he was 
killed by one of his own people, a deserter to the colonists. 
His dead body was beheaded and quartered, the sentence 
of the English law upon traitors. One of his hands was 
given to the Indian who had shot him, and on August 17, 
the day appointed for a public thanksgiving, his head 
was carried in triumph to Plymouth. 

The popular rage against the Indians was excessive. 
Death or slavery was the penalty for all known or sus- 
pected to have been concerned in shedding English blood. 
Merely having been present at the ''Swamp Fight" was 
adjudged by the authorities of Rhode Island sufficient 
foundation for sentence of death, and that, too, notwith- 
standing they had intimated an opinion that the origin 
of the war would not bear examination. The other cap- 
tives who fell into the hands of the colonists were dis- 
tributed among them as ten-year servants. Roger Wil- 
liams received a boy for his share. Many chiefs were 
executed at Boston and Plymouth on the charge of re- 
bellion; among others. Captain Tom, chief of the Chris- 
tian Indians at Natick, and Tispiquin, a noted warrior, 
reputed to be invulnerable, who had surrendered to 
Church on an implied promise of safety. A large body 
of Indians, assembled at Dover to treat of peace, were 
treacherously made prisoners by Major Waldron, who 
commanded there. Some two hundred of these Indians, 
claimed as fugitives from Massachusetts, were sent by 
water to Boston, where some were hanged, and the rest 

56 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

shipped off to be sold as slaves. Some fishermen of 
Marblehead having been killed by the Indians at the 
eastward, the women of that town, as they came out of 
meeting on a Sunday, fell upon two Indian prisoners 
who had just been brought in, and murdered them on 
the spot. The same ferocious spirit of revenge which 
governed the contemporaneous conduct of Berkeley in 
Viriginia toward those concerned in Bacon's rebellion, 
swayed, the authorities of New England in their treat- 
ment of the conquered Indians. By the end of the year 
the contest was over in the South, upward of two thou- 
sand Indians having been killed or taken. But some 
time elapsed before a peace could be arranged with tl^ 
Eastern tribes, whose haunts it was not so easy to reach. 

In this short war of hardly a year's duration the 
Wampanoags and Narragansets had suffered the fate of 
the Pequots. The Niantics alone, under the guidance 
of their aged sachem, Ninigret, had escaped destruction. 
Philip's country was annexed to Plymouth, though sixty 
years afterward, under a royal order in council, it was 
transferred to Rhode Island. The Narraganset territory 
remained as before, under the name of King's Province, 
a bone of contention between Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
the Marquis of Hamilton, and the Atherton claimants. 
The Niantics still retained their ancient seats along the 
southern shores of Narraganset t Bay. Most of the sur- 
viving Narragansets, the Nipmucks, and the River In- 
dians, abandoned their country, and migrated to the 
North and West. Such as remained, along with the 
Mohegans and other subject tribes, became more than 
ever abject and subservient. 

The work of conversion was now again renewed, and, 
after such overwhelming proofs of Christian superiority, 
with somewhat greater success. A second edition of the 
Indian Old Testament, which seems to have been more 
in demand than the New, was published in 1683, revised 
by Eliot, with the assistance of John Cotton, son of the 

57 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

"great Cotton," and minister of Plymouth. But not an 
individual exists in our day by whom it can be under- 
stood. The fragments of the subject tribes, broken in 
spirit, lost the savage freedom and rude virtues of their 
fathers, without acquiring the laborious industry of the 
whites. Lands were assigned them in various places, 
which they were prohibited by law from alienating. But 
this very provision, though himianely intended, operated 
to perpetuate their indolence and incapacity. Some 
sought a more congenial occupation in the whale fishery, 
which presently began to be carried on from the islands 
of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Many perished 
by enlisting in the military expeditions undertaken in 
future years against Acadie and the West Indies. The 
Indians intermarried with the blacks, and thus confirmed 
their degradation by associating themselves with another 
oppressed and unfortunate race. Gradually they dwindled 
away. A few sailors and petty farmers, of mixed blood, 
as much African as Indian, are now the sole surviving 
representatives of the aboriginal possessors of southern 
New England. 

On the side of the colonists the contest had also been 
very disastrous. Twelve or thirteen towns had been en- 
tirely ruined, and many others partially destroyed. Six 
hundred houses had been burned, near a tenth part of 
all in New England. Twelve captains and more than 
six hundred men in the prime of life had fallen in battle. 
There was hardly a family not in mourning. The pe- 
cuniary losses and expenses of the war were estimated 
at near a million of dollars. Massachusetts was burdened 
with a heavy debt. No aid nor relief seems to have come 
from abroad, except a contribution from Ireland of ;^5oo 
for the benefit of the sufferers by the war, chiefly collected 
by the efforts of Nathaniel Mather, lately successor to his 
brother Samuel as minister of the non-conformist con- 
gregation at Dublin. 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, BETWEEN THE DEFEAT OF 
KING PHILIP, 1676, AND THE CAPT- 
URE OF QUEBEC, 1759 

1676. Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia against the gov- 
ernment of Sir William Berkeley. 

1679. The Scottish Covenanters are defeated by the 
Duke of Monmouth at Bothwell Bridge. 

1 68 1. William Penn obtains his patent from the Eng- 
lish Crown. 

1682. Purchase of East Jersey by William Penn. He 
takes possession of New Castle (Delaware) and founds 
the Colony of Pennsylvania. La Salle descends the 
Mississippi to its mouth. 

1684. The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company 
is declared forfeited to the English Crown. 

1685. James II. succeeds his brother, Charles II., as 
King of England. Insurrection of the Earl of Argyll and 
the Duke of Monmouth. Defeat of Monmouth at Sedge- 
moor; his execution. 

1686. Sir Edmund Andros is made Governor of New 
England. 

1688. William of Orange lands in England; flight of 
James II. 

1689. William and Mary are proclaimed King and 
Queen of England. England declares war against France. 
Victory of the Scottish Jacobites at Killiecrankie. Over- 
throw of Andros in New England. Beginning of King 
William's War in America. 

1690. The Orangemen in Ireland win the battle of the 
Boyne. Destruction of Schenectady by the French and 
Indians. Sir William Phips, commanding a New England 
expedition, captures Port Royal, and later makes a fruit- 
less demonstration against Quebec. 

1 69 1. The Jacobites are overcome in Scotland. Sur- 

59 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

render of Limerick, the last stronghold of James 11. in 
Ireland. 

1692. Union of the Plymouth and Massachusetts col- 
onies. Witchcraft delusion at Salem. 

1693. The French Admiral Tourville defeats the Eng- 
lish fleet off Cape St. Vincent. 

1697. France makes peace at Ryswick with Holland, 
Spain, and England. Close of King William's War in 
America. 

1699. The French begin the settlement of Louisiana. 

1 701. Beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession. 

1702. Death of William III. and accession of Queen 
Anne. Successful campaign of Churchill (Marlborough) 
in the Netherlands. Naval triumph of the English and 
Dutch over the Spanish and French at Vigo. Queen 
Anne's War in America. French settlement in Alabama. 

1704. The English are victorious over the French at 
the battle of Blenheim. Capture of Gibraltar by the Eng- 
lish. Massacre of white settlers by the Indians at Deer- 
field, Massachusetts. 

1706. Marlborough defeats the French and Bavarians 
at the battle of Ramillies. 

1708. Victory of Marlborough and Prince Eugene, at 
Oudenarde, over the Dukes of Burgundy and Vendome. 

171 1. Unsuccessful expedition of the English and New 
England forces under Walker against Canada. 

1 7 13. Treaty of Utrecht. Close of Queen Anne's War in 
America. Acadia (Nova Scotia, etc.) ceded to England by 
France, which also restores the Hudson Bay region. The 
power of the Tuscarora Indians broken by the Carolinians. 

1 714. George I., Elector of Hanover, succeeds to the 
English Crown. 

1 71 5. Rebellion in Scotland and in the North of Eng- 
land in favor of James Edward Stuart, the Jacobite pre- 
tender. 

1 718. French settlement of New Orleans. 
1720. Failure of Law's Mississippi scheme in France. 

60 



THE DEFEAT OF KING PHILIP 

1722. Establishment of the Moravian settlement in 
Pennsylvania under Count Zinzendorf. 

1727. Accession of George II. 

1728. Discovery of Behring's Strait. 

1729. Carolina, purchased by the English Crown, is 
divided into the royal provinces of North and South 
Carolina. 

1730. Baltimore is laid out. 

1732. Oglethorpe embarks from England to establish 
a settlement in Georgia. 

1733. Founding of Savannah. 

1 741. New Hampshire is finally separated from Massa- 
chusetts. 

1744. Beginning of King George's War in America. The 
French capture Canseau (afterward Canso), and are re- 
pulsed at Annapolis. 

1745. Jacobite rising in Scotland. Charles Edward, 
the young Pretender, is victorious at Prestonpans. The 
New England troops, under Sir William Pepperell, reduce 
the French fortress of Louisburg. 

1746. Jacobite defeat at Culloden. 

1748. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle terminates the 
War of the Austrian Succession and King George's War 
in America. Louisburg restored to France. 

1749. The Ohio Company receives its grant from 
George II. 

1753. Friction between French and Americans on 
tributaries of the Alleghany, along American western 
frontier. Washington's vain protest against the French 
seizure of Venango. 

1754. Beginning of the French and Indian War in 
America. Washington's attack upon Jumonville, near 
Great Meadows, the first action. The French compel 
Washington to capitulate at Fort Necessity. 

1755. Braddock's expedition against Fort Duquesne 
and his disastrous defeat. Abortive expeditions by the 
English against Niagara and Crown Point. 

61 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

1756. Formal declaration of hostilities between France 
and England, and beginning of the Seven Years' War. 
Capture of Oswego by the French. 

1757. Montcalm takes Fort William Henry on Lake 
George. 

1758. Victory of Montcalm at Ticonderoga. Reduc- 
tion of Louisburg, and capture of Forts Frontenac and 
Duquesne by the English. 



V 

THE FALL OF QUEBEC, 1759 

[The visits of Breton fishermen to Newfoundland in the early- 
sixteenth century, the voyages of Cartier to the St. Lawrence in 
1534 and 1541-43, the foundation of Port Royal in Acadia in 1605, 
and of Quebec by Champlain in 1608, were the beginnings of a 
French occupancy of the northern and central portions of North 
America which led inevitably to conflict with England and the 
American colonists. The title based upon Marquette's discovery 
of the Mississippi in 1673, and La Salle's exploration and claim to 
the whole vast valley in 1682, would have confined the English to 
the Atlantic seaboard. The contact between the wholly different 
types represented in English and French colonization caused fric- 
tion which became acute when King William's War broke out in 
1689. The eight years of that war, with its profitless capture of 
Port Royal, Nova Scotia, were followed by Queen Anne's War, 
1702-13, and King George's War, 1744-48, and the interval after 
the Treaty of Utrecht was a truce rather than peace. The French 
were strengthening their hold along the western frontier of the 
English colonists, at Fort Duquesne, and elsewhere. Braddock's 
defeat in 1755, and attacks upon Crown Point and Niagara, pre- 
ceded the formal declaration of hostilities between France and 
England in 1756, the beginning of the Seven Years' War, involv- 
ing nearly all Europe, with England and Prussia facing Russia, 
France, Austria, Sweden, and Saxony. In America, in 1756-57, 
the incompetency of Loudon and Abercrombie, the dilatory prep- 
arations to attack Louisburg, and Montcalm's capture of Fort 
William Henry, made the first stage of the war a gloomy one. But 
Pitt's entrance into the British cabinet as Secretary of State 
brought an intelligent and active prosecution of the war. The 
next year, 1758, witnessed the capture of Fort Frontenac on 
Ontario, Fort Duquesne, and Louisburg by the English and 
American forces. — Editor.] 

THE British Parliament met late in November, 1758, 
at a time when the nation was aglow with enthusiasm 
over the successes of the year — Louisburg and Frontenac 
5 63 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

in North America, and the driving of the French from the 
Guinea coast as the result of battles at Senegal (May) and 
Goree (November)/ The war was proving far more 
costly than had been anticipated, yet Pitt rigidly held the 
country to the task; but not against its will, and the 
necessary funds were freely voted. Walpole wrote to a 
friend: "Our unanimity is prodigious. You Avould as 
soon hear * No ' from an old maid as from the House of 
Commons." The preparations for the new year were on 
a much larger scale than before; both by land and sea 
France was to be pushed to the uttermost, and the war- 
like spirit of Great Britain seemed wrought to the highest 
pitch. 

The new French premier, Choiseul, was himself not 
lacking in activity. He renewed with vigor the project 
of invading Great Britain, preparations therefor being 
evident quite early in the year 1759. Fifty thousand men 
were to land in England, and twelve thousand in Scot- 
land, where the Stuart cause still lingered. But as usual 
the effort came to naught. The Toulon squadron was to 
co-operate with one from Brest; Boscawen, who noAV 
commanded the Mediterranean fleet, apprehended the 
former while trying to escape through the Straits of 
Gibraltar in a thick haze (August 17), and after destroy- 
ing several of the ships dispersed the others; while 
Sir Edward Hawke annihilated the Brest fleet in a brilliant 
sea-fight off Quiberon Bay (November 20).^ Relieved 
of the possibility of insular invasion, the Channel and 
Mediterranean squadrons were now free to raid French 
commerce, patrol French ports, and thus intercept com- 
munication with New France, and to harry French — and, 
later, Spanish — colonies overseas. 

In 1757 Clive had regained Calcutta and won Bengal 
at the famous battle of Plassey. Two years thereafter 
the East Indian seas were abandoned by the French after 

^ Clowes, Royal Navy, III, 186-189. 

"^ Ibid., 210-214, on Bosca wen's victory; 216-222, on Hawke's. 

64 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

three decisive actions won by Pitt's valiant seamen, and 
India thus became a permanent possession of the British 
empire.^ In January, 1759, also, the British captured 
Guadeloupe, in the West Indies.^ Lacking sea power, it 
was impossible for France much longer to hold her col- 
onies; it was but a question of time when the remain- 
der should fall into the clutches of the mistress of the 
ocean. 

Notwithstanding all this naval activity, Pitt's principal 
operations were really centred against Canada. The 
movement thither was to be along two lines, which event- 
ually were to meet in co-operation. First, a direct attack 
was to be made upon Quebec, headed by Wolfe, who was 
to be convoyed and assisted by a fleet under the com- 
mand of Admiral Saunders; second, Amherst — -now com- 
mander-in-chief in America, Abercromble having been 
recalled — was to penetrate Canada by way of Lakes 
Gsorge and Champlain. He was to join Wolfe at Quebec, 
but was authorized to make such diversions as he found 
practicable — principally to re-establish Oswego and to 
relieve Pittsburg (Fort Duquesne) with reinforcements 
and supplies. 

Wolfe's selection as leader of the Quebec expedition 
occasioned general surprise in England. Yet it was in 
the natural course of events. He had been the life of the 
Louisburg campaign of the year before, and when Am- 
herst was expressing the desire of attacking Quebec after 
the reduction of Cape Breton he wrote to the latter: "An 
offensive, daring kind of war will awe the Indians and 
ruin the French. Block-houses and a trembling defensive 
encourage the meanest scoundrels to attack us. If you 
will attempt to cut up New France by the roots, I will 
come with pleasure to assist." ^ 

Wolfe, whose family enjoyed some influence, had at- 
tained a captaincy at the age of seventeen and became a 

^Clowes, Royal Navy, III, 196-201. , "^ Ibid., 201-203. 

^ Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, II, 80. 

66 



THE FALL OF QUEBEC 

major at twenty. He was now thirty-two, a major-gener- 
al, and with an excellent fighting record both in Flanders 
and America. Quiet and modest in demeanor, although 
occasionally using excitable and ill-guarded language, he 
was a refined and educated gentleman; careful of and 
beloved by his troops, yet a stern disciplinarian; and 
although frail in body, and often overcome by rheuma- 
tism and other ailments, capable of great strain when 
buoyed by the zeal which was one of his characteristics. 
The majority of his portraits represent a tall, lank, un- 
gainly form, with a singularly weak facial profile; but it 
is likely that these belie him, for he had an indubitable 
spirit, a profound mind, quick intuition, a charming man- 
ner, and was much thought of by women. Indeed, just 
before sailing, he had become engaged to the beautiful 
and charming Katharine Lowther, sister of Lord Lonsdale, 
and afterward the Duchess of Bolton.^ 

On February 17 Wolfe departed with Saunders' fleet 
of twenty-one sail, bearing the king's secret instructions 
to "carry into execution the said important operation 
with the utmost application and vigor." ^ The voyage 
was protracted, and after arrival at Louisburg he was 
obliged to wait long before the promised troops appeared. 
He had expected regiments from Guadeloupe, but these 
could not yet be spared, owing to their wretched condi- 
tion ; and the Nova Scotia garrisons had also been weak- 
ened by disease, so that of the twelve thousand agreed 
upon he finally could muster somewhat under nine 
thousand.^ These were of the best quality of their kind; 
although the general still entertained a low opinion of 
the value of the provincials, who, it must be admitted, 
were, however serviceable in bush-ranging, far below the 

^ For biographical details of Wolfe's early career, see Wright, 
Life, and Doughty and Parmelee, Siege of Quebec, I, 1-128; in 
ibid., II, 16, is a portrait of Wolfe's fiancee. 

2 Text in Doughty and Parmelee, Siege of Quebec, VI, 87-90. 

^ Lists in Doughty and Parmelee, Siege of Quebec, II, 22, 23, 

■ 67 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

efficiency of the regulars in a campaign of this character. 
The force was divided into three brigades, under Monck- 
ton, Townsend, and Murray, young men of abiHty; al- 
though Townsend's supercilious manner — the fruit of a 
superior social connection — did not endear him either to 
his men or his colleagues. 

On June i the fleet began to leave Louisburg. There 
were thirty-nine men-of-war, ten auxiliaries, seventy-six 
transports, and a hundred and sixty-two miscellaneous 
craft, which were manned by thirteen thousand naval 
seamen and five thousand of the mercantile marine — an 
aggregate of eighteen thousand, or twice as many as the 
landsmen under Wolfe. ^ While to the latter is commonly 
given credit for the result, it must not be forgotten that 
the victory was quite as much due to the skilful manage- 
ment of the navy as to that of the army, the expedition 
being in all respects a joint enterprise, into which the 
men of both branches of the service entered with intense 
enthusiasm. 

The French had placed much reliance on the supposed 
impossibility of great battle-ships being successfully navi- 
gated up the St. Lawrence above the mouth of the 
Saguenay without the most careful piloting. This por- 
tion of the river, a hundred and twenty miles in length, 
certainly is intricate water, being streaked with perplex- 
ing currents created by the mingling of the river's strong 
flow with the flood and ebb of the tide ; the great stream 
is diverted into two parallel channels by reefs and islands, 
and there are numerous shoals — moreover, the French 
had removed all lights and other aids to navigation. But 
British sailors laughed at difficulties such as these, and, 
while they managed to capture a pilot, had small use for 
him, preferring their own cautious methods. Preceded 
by a crescent of sounding-boats, officered by Captain 
James Cook, afterward of glorious memory as a path- 

^ Wood, Fight for Canada, i66, 167, 173. 
68 



THE FALL OF QUEBEC 

finder, the fleet advanced slowly but safely, its approach 
heralded by beacons gleaming nightly to the fore, upon 
the rounded hill-tops overlooking the long thin line of 
riverside settlement which extended eastward from Que- 
bec to the Saguenay/ 

The French had at first expected attacks only from 
Lake Ontario and from the south. But receiving early 
tidings of Wolfe's expedition, through convoys with sup- 
plies from France that had escaped Saunders' patrol of 
the gulf, general alarm prevailed, and Montcalm decided 
to make his stand at Quebec. To the last he appears to 
have shared in the popular delusion that British men-of- 
war could not ascend the river; nevertheless, he promptly 
summoned to the capital the greater part of the militia 
from all sections of Canada, save that a thousand whites 
and savages were left with Pouchot to defend Niagara, 
twelve hundred men under De la Corne to guard Lake 
Ontario, and Bourlamaque, with upward of three thou- 
sand, was ordered to delay Amherst's advance and thus 
prevent him from joining Wolfe. The population of 
Canada at the time was about eighty-five thousand souls, 
and of these perhaps twenty-two thousand were capable 
of bearing arms.^ The force now gathered in and about 
Quebec aggregated about seventeen thousand, of whom 
some ten thousand were militia, four thousand regulars 
of the line, and a thousand each of colonial regulars, sea- 
men, and Indians; of these two thousand were reserved 
for the garrison of Quebec, under De Ramezay, while the 
remainder were at the disposal of Montcalm for the 
general defence.^ 

The "rock of Quebec" is the northeast end of a long, 
narrow triangular promontory, to the north of which lies 

^"Journal of the Expedition up the River St. Lawrence," by 
a sergeant-major of grenadiers, in Doughty and Parmelee, Siege 
of Quebec, V, i-ii. 

2 Doughty and Parmelee, Siege of Quebec, II, 51-53. 

^ Wood, Fight for Canada, 152. 

69 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the valley of the St. Charles and to the south that of the 
St. Lawrence. The acclivity on the St. Charles side is 
lower and less steep than the cliffs fringing the St. Law- 
rence, which rise almost precipitously from two to three 
hundred feet above the river — the citadel cliff being three 
hundred and forty-five feet, almost sheer. Either side 
of the promontory was easily defensible from assault, the 
table-land being only reached by steep and narrow paths. 
Surmounting the cliffs, at the apex of the triangle, was 
Upper Town, the capital of New France. Batteries, large- 
ly manned by sailors, lined the cliff-tops within the town, 
and the western base, fronting the Plains of Abraham, 
was protected by fifteen hundred yards of insecure wall 
— for, after all, Quebec had, despite the money spent 
upon it, never been scientifically fortified, its commanders 
having from the first relied chiefly upon its natural posi- 
tion as a stronghold. 

At the base of the promontory, on the St. Lawrence 
side, is a wide beach occupied by Lower Town, where were 
the market, the commercial warehouses, a large share of 
the business establishments, and the homes of the trading 
and laboring classes. A narrow strand, little more than 
the width of a roadway, extended along the base of the 
cliffs westward, communicating with the up-river country; 
another road led westward along the table-land above. 
Thus the city obtained its supplies from the interior both 
by highway and by river. 

Entrance to the St. Charles side of the promontory had 
been blocked by booms at the mouth of that river, pro- 
tected by strong redoubts; and off Lower Town was a 
line of floating batteries. Beyond the St. Charles, for 
a distance of seven miles eastward to the gorge of the 
Montmorenci, Montcalm disposed the greater part of his 
forces, his position being a plain naturally protected by 
a steep slope descending to the meadow and tidal flats 
which here margin the St. Lawrence. This plain rises 
gradually from the St. Charles, until at the Montmorenci 

70 



r T— ■ , : . : - . -T^— -r-^ — — -r -—>- - ^ 


■gi^ 


:--.,V^'^^S'^^^'^ 


^T 


k.- -. l^^^^kil 


i 


m/I^^^^^K^^ 




S^ 


^S^^H^^H^^^y 


f"S^ 


^ 






1 






^> 


^'^' V 


^-- -'..#s6^i 


: 




li . ,.:„ 



THE FALL OF QUEBEC 

cataract it attains a height of three hundred feet, and 
along the summit of the slope were well-devised trenches. 
The gorge furnished a strong natural defence to the left 
wing, for it could be forded only in the dense forest at a 
considerable distance above the falls, and to force this 
approach would have been to invite an ambuscade. 
Wolfe contented himself, therefore, with intrenching a 
considerable force along the eastern bank of the gorge, 
and thence issuing for frontal attacks on the Beauport 
Flats — so called from the name of the village midway. 
Montcalm had chosen this as the chief line of defence, 
on the theory that the approach by the St. Charles would 
be the one selected by the invaders; as, indeed, it long 
seemed to Wolfe the only possible path to the works of 
Upper Town. 

Westward of the city, upon the table-land, Bougain- 
ville headed a corps of observation, supposed continually 
to patrol the St. Lawrence cliff-tops and keep communi- 
cations open with the interior; but this precaution failed 
in the hour of need. The height of Point Levis, across 
the river from the town, on the south bank, was unoccu- 
pied. Montcalm had wished to fortify this vantage-point, 
and thus block the river from both sides, but Vaudreuil 
had overruled him, and the result was fatal. Other weak 
points in the defence were divided command and the 
scarcity of food and ammunition, occasioned largely by 
Bigot's rapacious knavery. 

On June 26 the British fleet anchored off the Isle of 
Orleans, thus dissipating the fond hopes of the French 
that some disaster might prevent its approach. Three 
days later Wolfe's men, now encamped on the island at 
a safe distance from Montcalm's guns, made an easy cap- 
ture of Point Levis, and there erected batteries which 
commanded the town. British ships were, in conse- 
quence, soon able to pass Quebec, under cover of the 
Point Levis guns, and destroy some of the French ship- 
ping anchored in the upper basin; while landing parties 

71 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA ' 

harried the country to the west, forcing habitants to 
neutraHty and intercepting suppHes. Frequently the 
British forces were, upon these various enterprises, di- 
vided into three or four isolated divisions, which might 
have been roughly handled by a venturesome foe. But 
Montcalm rigidly maintained the policy of defence, his 
only offensive operations being the unsuccessful dispatch 
of fire-ships against the invading fleet. 

On his part, Wolfe made several futile attacks upon 
the Beauport redoubts. The position was, however, too 
strong for him to master, and in one assault (July 31) he 
lost half of his landing party — nearly five hundred killed, 
wounded, and missing.^ This continued ill-success fretted 
Wolfe and at last quite disheartened him, for the season 
was rapidly wearing on, and winter sets in early at Quebec ; 
moreover, nothing had yet been heard of Amherst. There 
was, indeed, some talk of waiting until another season. 
However, more and more British ships worked their way 
past the fort, and, by making frequent feints of landing 
at widely separated points, caused Bougainville great 
annoyance. Montcalm was accordingly obliged to weaken 
his lower forces by sending reinforcements to the plains 
west of the city. Thus, while Wolfe was pining, French 
uneasiness was growing, for the British were now inter- 
cepting supplies and reinforcements from both above and 
below, and Bougainville's men were growing weary of 
constantly patrolling fifteen or twenty miles of cliffs.^ 

Meanwhile, let us see how Amherst was faring. At the 
end of June the general assembled five thousand provin- 
cials and sixty-five hundred regulars at the head of Lake 
George. He had previously dispatched Brigadier Pri- 
deaux with five thousand regulars and provincials to re- 

^ Authorities cited in Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, II, 233, 
234. For details, consult Doughty and Parmelee, Siege of Quebec, 
II, chap. vi. 

- See Bougainville's correspondence, in Doughty and Parmelee 
Siege of Quebec, IV, 1-141. 

72 



THE FALL OF QUEBEC 

duce Niagara, and Brigadier Stanwix, who had been of 
Bradstreet's party the year before, to succor Pittsburg, 
now in imminent danger from French bush-rangers and 
Indians who were swarming at Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, 
and Venango. 

Amherst himself moved slowly, it being July 21 be- 
fore the army started northward upon the lake. Bour- 
lamaque, whose sole purpose was to delay the British 
advance, lay at Ticonderoga with thirty-five hundred 
men, but on the twenty-sixth he blew up the fort and 
retreated in good order to Crown Point. On the British 
approaching that post he again fell back, this time to a 
strong position at Isle aux Noix, at the outlet of Lake 
Champlain, where, wrote Bourlamaque to a friend, "we 
are entrenched to the teeth, and armed with a hundred 
pieces of cannon." ^ Amherst now deeming vessels es- 
sential, yet lacking ship-carpenters, it was the middle of 
September before his little navy was ready, and then he 
thought the season too far advanced for further opera- 
tions.^ Amherst's advance had, however, induced Mont- 
calm to defend Montreal, Levis having been dispatched 
thither for this purpose. 

Prideaux, advancing up the Mohawk, proceeded to 
Oswego, where he left half of his men to cover his retreat, 
and then sailed to Niagara. Slain by accident during the 
siege, his place was taken by Sir William Johnson, the 
Indian commander, who pushed the work with vigor. 
Suddenly confronted by a French force of thirteen hun- 
dred rangers and savages from the West, who had been 
deflected thither from a proposed attack on Pittsburg, 
with the view of recovering that fort, Johnson complete- 
ly vanquished them (July 24). The discomfited crew 
burned their posts in that region and retreated precip- 

^ September 22, 1759, quoted in Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, 
II. 249. 

2 Official journal of Amherst, in London Magazine, XXVII, 
379-383- 

73 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

itately to Detroit. The following day Niagara surren- 
dered, and thus, with Pittsburg also saved, the West was 
entirely cut off from Canada, and the upper Ohio Valley 
was placed in British hands. The work of Stanwix hav- 
ing been accomplished by Johnson, the former, who had 
been greatly delayed by transport difficulties, advanced 
as promptly as possible to the Forks of the Ohio, and in 
the place of the old French works built the modernized 
stronghold of Fort Pitt.^ 

On August 20, Wolfe fell seriously ill. Both he and 
the army were discouraged. The casualties had thus far 
been over eight hundred men, and disease had cut a wide 
swath through the ranks. Desperate, he at last accepted 
the counsel of his officers, that a landing be attempted 
above the town, supplies definitively cut off from Mon- 
treal, and Montcalm forced to fight or surrender. From 
September 3 to 12, Wolfe, arisen from his bed but still 
weak, quietly withdrew his troops from the Montmorenci 
camp and transported them in vessels which success- 
fully passed through a heavy cannonading from the 
fort to safe anchorage in the upper basin. Reinforce- 
ments marching along the southern bank, from Point 
Levis, soon joined their comrades aboard the ships. For 
several days this portion of the fleet regularly floated up 
and down the river above Quebec, with the changing tide, 
thus wearing out Bougainville's men, who in great per- 
plexity followed the enemy along the cliff-tops, through 
a beat of several leagues, until from sheer exhaustion they 
at last became careless. 

On the evening of September 12, Saunders — whose ad- 
mirable handling of the fleet deserves equal recognition 
with the services of Wolfe — commenced a heavy bom- 
bardment of the Beauport lines, and feigned a general 
landing at that place. Montcalm, not knowing that the 
majority of the British were by this time above the town, 

^ Stanwix to Pitt, November 20, 1759, MS. in Public Record 
Office. 

74 



THE FALL OF QUEBEC 



and deceived as to his enemy's real intent, hurried to 
Beauport the bulk of his troops, save those necessary for 
Bougainville's rear guard. Meanwhile, however, Wolfe 
was preparing for his desperate attempt several miles up 
the river. 

Before daylight the following morning (September 
13), thirty boats containing seventeen hundred picked 
men, with Wolfe at their head, floated down the stream 
under the dark shadow of the apparently insurmount- 
able cliffs. They were challenged by sentinels along the 
shore ; but, by pretending to be a provision convoy which 
had been expected from up-country, suspicion was dis- 
armed. About two miles above Quebec they landed at 
an indentation then known as Anse du Foulon, but 
now called Wolfe's 
Cove. From the 
narrow beach a 
small, winding 
path, sighted by 
Wolfe two days 
before, led up 
through the trees 
and underbrush to 
the Plains of Abra- 
ham. The climb- 
ing party of twen- 
ty-four infantry- 
men found the path obstructed by an abatis and trenches ; 
but, nothing daunted, they clambered up the height of 
two hundred feet by the aid of stunted shrubs, reached 
the top, overcame the weak and cowardly guard of a 
hundred men, made way for their comrades, and by sun- 
rise forty-five hundred men of the British army were 
drawn up across the plateau before the walls of Quebec.^ 

^ [There was one regular regiment of American origin with Wolfe, 
the "Royal Americans," represented by their second and third 
battalions. One battalion was left to guard the landing. The 

75 




SIEGE OF QUEBEC 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Montcalm, ten miles away on the other side of the St. 
Charles, was amazed at the daring feat, but by nine 
o'clock had massed his troops and confronted his enemy. 
The battle was brief but desperate. The intrepid Wolfe 
fell on the field — "the only British general," declared 
Horace Walpole, "belonging to the reign of George the 
Second who can be said to have earned a lasting reputa- 
tion." ^ Montcalm, mortally wounded, was carried by 
his fleeing comrades within the city, where he died before 
morning. During the seven hours' battle the British 
had lost forty-eight killed and five hundred and ninety- 
seven wounded, about twenty per cent, of the firing-line; 
the French lost about twelve hundred killed, wounded, 
and prisoners, of whom perhaps a fourth were killed.^ 

Tom by disorder, the militia mutinous, the walls in 
ruins from the cannonading of the British fleet, and Vau- 
dreuil and his fellows fleeing to the interior, the helpless 
garrison of Quebec surrendered, September 17, the British 
troops entering the following day. The English flag now 
floated over the citadel, and soon there was great re- 
joicing throughout Great Britain and her American col- 
onies ; and well there might be, for the affair on the Plains 
of Abraham was one of the most heroic and far-reaching 
achievements ever wrought by Englishmen in any land 
or sea. 

superior officers of this regiment were English. There seem to 
have been also some provincial rangers, although the famous 
Robert Rogers was not present. — Editor.] 

^Doughty and Parmelee, Siege of Quebec, II, 237. 

^Ibid., II, 332, with detailed British returns; Wood, Fight for 
Canada, 262. 



THE FALL OF QUEBEC 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, BETWEEN THE CAPTURE OF 
QUEBEC, 1759, AND THE BATTLE OF . 
BUNKER HILL, 1775 

1760. Accession of George III. to throne of England. 
The EngHsh capture Montreal. 

1 761. American commerce and industry closely re- 
stricted by enforcement of navigation laws, acts of trade, 
and writs of assistance. Protests of James Otis and 
Patrick Henry. 

1762. England declares war against Spain and cap- 
tures Havana. 

1763. Treaty of Paris, and cession of Canada to Eng- 
land. 

1765. Passage of the Stamp Act by the British Parlia- 
ment, followed by American protests. 

1766. Repeal of the Stamp Act. 

1767. The British Parliament, by the Townshend Acts, 
imposes duties on paper, glass, tea, etc., imported into 
America, 

1769. Massachusetts House of Representatives refuses 
to pay for quartering British troops. Defeat of Paoli 
and subjection of Corsica by the French. 

1770. "Boston Massacre" — British soldiers, provoked 
by citizens, kill three and wound several. 

1772. First partition of Poland between Russia, Austria, 
and Prussia. Samuel Adams actively advocates inde- 
pendence in Boston. British ship, the Gaspee, burned 
by Rhode Islanders. Virginia Assembly appoints Com- 
mittee of Correspondence to keep in touch with other 
colonies. 

1773. "Boston Tea-party" — taxed tea from England 
thrown overboard in Boston harbor by disguised Ameri- 
cans. 

77 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF A M E R I C i^ 

1774. Five oppressive Acts, including Boston Port 
Bill, passed by British Parliament. General Gage, com- 
missioned as Governor, comes to Boston with additional 
British troops. A Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 
delegates from all colonies except Georgia, and issues a 
"Declaration of Rights," frames Articles of Association, 
and indorses opposition of Massachusetts to the Oppres- 
sive Acts of Parliament. 

1775. General Gage sends troops to destroy supplies 
gathered at Concord. Battles of Lexington and Concord. 
North Carolina the first to instruct delegates to Congress 
for independence. Battle of Bunker Hill. Seizure of 
Ticonderoga and occupation of Crown Point by Ameri- 
cans. Washington takes command of the army at Cam- 
bridge. The Americans capture Montreal. Arnold re- 
pulsed at Quebec and Montgomery killed. 



VI 

CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



NOT a clause in the Declaration of Independence sets 
forth the real and underlying cause of the American 
Revolution. The attention of its writer was bent upon 
recent events, and he dwelt only upon the immediate 
reasons for throwing off allegiance to the British govern- 
ment. In the dark of the storm already upon them, the 
men of the time could hardly look with clear vision back 
to ultimate causes. They could not see that the English 
kings had planted the seeds of the Revolution when, in 
their zeal to get America colonized, they had granted such 
political and religious privileges as tempted the radicals 
and dissenters of the time to migrate to America. Only 
historical research could reveal the fact that from the 
year 1620 the English government had been systemati- 
cally stocking the colonies with dissenters and retaining 
in England the conformers. The tendency of coloniza- 
tion was to leave the conservatives in England, thus 
relatively increasing the conservative force at home, while 
the radicals went to America to fortify the radical political 
philosophy there. Thus England lost part of her po- 
tentiality for political development. 

Not only were radicals constantly settling in the colo- 
nies, because of the privileges granted them there, but 
the Crown neglected to enforce in the colonies the same 
regulations that it enforced at home. The Act of Uni- 
formity was not extended to the colonies, though rigidly 
6 79 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

enforced in England; the viceregal officers, the governors, 
permitted themselves again and again to be browbeaten 
and disobeyed by the colonial legislatures;^ and even the 
king himself had allowed Massachusetts (1635) to over- 
reach him by not giving up her charter.^ 

After a century of great laxity toward the colonies — a 
century in which the colonists were favored by political 
privileges shared by no other people of that age ; after the 
environment had established new social conditions, and 
remoteness and isolation had created a local and indi- 
vidual hatred of restraint ; after the absence of traditions 
had made possible the institution of representation by 
population, and self-government had taken on a new 
meaning in the world; after a great gulf had been fixed 
between the social, political, and economic institutions 
of the two parts of the British empire — only then did the 
British government enter upon a policy intended to make 
the empire a unity. ^ 

Independence had long existed in spirit in most of the 
essential matters of colonial life, and the British govern- 
ment had only to seek to establish its power over the 
colonies in order to arouse a desire for formal indepen- 
dence. The transition in England, therefore, to an im- 
perial ideal, about the middle of the eighteenth century, 
doubtless caused the rending of the empire. Walpole and 
Newcastle, whose administrations had just preceded the 
reign of George III., had let the colonies alone, and thus 
aided the colonial at the expense of the imperial idea; 
while their successors, Grenville and Townshend, ruling 
not wisely but too well, forced the colonists to realize that 
they cared more for America than for England. 

The time had come, though these ministers failed to 
see it, when the union of Great Britain with her colonies 

* Greene, The Provincial Governor, passim. 

2 Barry, Hist, of Mass., I, 288-295. 

3 For a detailed study of this subject, see Howard, Prelimi- 
naries of the Revolution {American Nation, VIII). 

80 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

depended on the offspring's disposition toward the 
mother-country. Good feeling would preserve the union, 
but dissatisfaction would make even forcible control im- 
possible. Social and political and economic ties still 
bound the colonists to the home land, but these were 
weak ties as compared with an irrepressible desire for 
self-growth. The expression of their political ideals un- 
restrained by the conservatism of the parent was a de- 
sired end to which they strove, almost unconscious of 
their object. 

To understand the American Revolution, therefore, 
several facts must be clearly in mind — first, that Great 
Britain had for one hundred and fifty years been grow- 
ing to the dignity of an empire, and that the thirteen 
colonies were a considerable part of that empire; second, 
the colonies had interests of their own which were not 
favored by the growing size and strength of the empire. 
They were advancing to new political ideals faster than 
the mother-country. Their economic interests were be- 
coming differentiated from those of England. They were 
coming to have wants and ambitions and hopes of their 
own quite distinct from those of Great Britain. 

At the fatal time when the independent spirit of Ameri- 
ca had grown assertive, the politically active part of the 
British people began unconsciously to favor an imperial 
policy, which their ministers suggested, and which to 
them seemed the very essence of sound reasoning and 
good government. They approved of the proposed crea- 
tion of executives who should be independent of the dic- 
tation of the colonial assemblies. There were also to be 
new administrative organs having power to enforce the 
colonial trade regulations; and the defensive system of 
the colonies was to be improved by a force of regular 
troops, which was in part to be supported by colonial 
taxes. 

In order to accomplish these objects, the king's new 
minister, the assiduous Grenville, who knew the law bet- 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ter than the maxims of statesmanship, induced Parlia- 
ment, in March, 1764, to resolve upon "certain stamp 
duties" for the colonies. A year later the ** Gentle Shep- 
herd," as Pitt had dubbed him, proved his watchfulness 
by getting a stamp act passed,^ which, though nearly a 
duplicate of one in force in England, and like one of 
Massachusetts' own laws, nevertheless aroused every 
colony to violent wrath. 

This sudden flame of colonial passion rose from the 
embers of discontent with Grenville's policy of enforcing 
the trade or navigation laws — those restrictions upon 
colonial industries and commerce which were the out- 
growth of a protective commercial policy which England 
had begun even before the discovery of America.^ As 
the colonies grew they began to be regarded as a source 
of wealth to the mother-country; and, at the same time 
that bounties were given them for raising commodities 
desired by England, restrictions were placed upon Ameri- 
can trade. ^ When the settlers of the northern and mid- 
dle colonies began manufacturing for themselves, their 
industry no sooner interfered with English manufactures 
than a law was passed to prevent the exportation of the 
production and to limit the industry itself. This system 
of restrictions, though it necessarily established a real 
opposition of interest between America and England, 
does not seem on the whole to have been to the disad- 
vantage of the colonies;^ nor was the English colonial 
system a whit more severe than that of other European 
countries. 

In 1733, however, the Molasses Act went into effect,^ 

^ 5 George III., chap, xii, given in Macdonald, Select Charters, 
281. ^ Beer, Commercial Policy of England, 10-13. 

^ For details and exact references to laws, see Channing, The 
Navigation Laws, in Amer. Antiq. Soc, Proceedings, new series, 
VI. For discussion, see Andrews, Colonial Self -Government, chap, 
i; Greene, Colonial Commonwealths {American Nation, V, VI). 

* Beer, Commercial Policy of England, chap. vii. 

^ 6 George 11. , chap. xiii. 

82 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and, had it been enforced, would have been a serious 
detriment to American interests. It not only aimed to 
stop the thriving colonial trade with the Dutch, French, 
and Spanish West Indies, but was intended to aid English 
planters in the British West Indies by laying a prohibitive 
duty on imported foreign sugar and molasses. It was not 
enforced, however, for the customs officials, by giving 
fraudulent clearances, acted in collusion with the colonial 
importers in evading the law; but, in 1761, during tha war 
with France, the thrifty colonists carried on an illegal 
trade with the enemy, and Pitt demanded that the re- 
strictive laws be enforced. 

The difficulty of enforcing was great, for it was hard 
to seize the smuggled goods, and harder still to convict 
the smuggler in the colonial courts. Search-warrants 
were impracticable, because the legal manner of using 
them made the informer's name public, and the law was 
unable to protect him from the anger of a community 
fully in sympathy with the smugglers. The only feasible 
way to put down this unpatriotic trade with the enemy 
was to resort to "writs of assistance," which would give 
the customs officers a right to search for smuggled goods 
in any house they pleased.^ Such warrants were legal, 
had been used in America, and were frequently used in 
England;^ yet so highly developed was the American love 
of personal liberty that when James Otis, a Boston law- 
yer, resisted by an impassioned speech the issue of such 
writs his arguments met universal approval.^ In perfect 
good faith he argued, after the manner of the ancient 
law-writers, that Parliament could not legalize tyranny, 
ignoring the historical fact that since the revolution of 
1688 an act of Parliament was the highest guarantee of 
right, and Parliament the sovereign and supreme power. 
Nevertheless, the popularity of Otis' argument showed 

* Macdonald, Select Charters, 259. 

2 Lecky, American Revolution (Woodburn's ed.), 48. 

^J. Adams, Works, II, 523-525. 

83 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

what America believed, and pointed very plainly the 
path of wise statesmanship. 

When, in 1763, the Pontiac Indian rebellion endan- 
gered the whole West and made necessary a force of sol- 
diers in Canada, Grenville, in spite of the recent warning, 
determined that the colonies should share the burden 
which was rapidly increasing in England. He lowered 
the sugar and molasses duties,^ and set out to enforce 
their collection by every lawful means. The trouble 
which resulted developed more quickly in Massachusetts, 
because its harsh climate and sterile soil drove it to a 
carrying-trade, and the enforced navigation laws were 
thought to threaten its ruin. It was while American 
economic affairs were in this condition that Grenville 
rashly aggravated the discontent by the passage of his 
Stamp Act. 

As the resistance of the colonies to this' taxation led 
straight to open war and final independence, it will be 
worth while to look rather closely at the stamp tax, and 
at the subject of representation, which was at once linked 
with it. The terms of the Stamp Act are not of great 
importance, because, though it did have at least one bad 
feature as a law, the whole opposition was on the ground 
that there should be no taxation whatever without repre- 
sentation. It made no difference to its enemies that the 
money obtained by the sale of stamps was to stay in 
America to support the soldiers needed for colonial pro- 
tection. Nothing would appease them while the taxing 
body contained no representatives of their own choosing. 

To attain this right, they made their fight upon legal 
and historical grounds — the least favorable they could 
have chosen. They declared that, under the British 
constitution, there could be no taxation except by per- 
sons known and voted for by the persons taxed. The 
wisest men seemed not to see the kernel of the 'dispute. 

^ 4 George III., chap. xv. 
84 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

A very real danger threatened the colonies — subject as 
they were to a body unsympathetic with the political and 
economic conditions in which they were living — but they 
had no legal safeguard.^ They must either sever the 
existing constitutional bond or get Parliament of its 
own will to limit its power over the colonies. All un- 
wittingly the opponents of the Stamp Act were strug- 
gling with a problem that could be solved only by rev- 
olution. 

Two great fundamental questions were at issue : Should 
there be a British empire ruled by Parliament in all its 
parts, either in England or oversea ? or should Parliament 
govern at home, and the colonial assemblies in America, 
with only a federal bond to unite them ? Should the Eng- 
lish understanding of representation be imposed upon 
the colonies? or should America's institution triumph in 
its own home? If there was to be a successful imperial 
system. Parliament must have the power to tax all parts 
of the empire. It was of no use to plead that Parliament 
had never taxed the colonies before, for, as Doctor John- 
son wrote, *'We do not put a calf into the plough: we 
wait till it is an ox." ^ The colonies wxre strong enough 
to stand taxation now, and the reasonable dispute must 
be as to the manner of it. To understand the widely dif- 
ferent points of view of Englishmen and Americans, we 
must examine their systems of representative govern- 
ment. 

In electing members to the House of Commons in Eng- 
land certain ancient counties and boroughs were entitled 
to representation, each sending two members, regardless 
of the number of people within its territory. For a cen- 
tury and a half before the American Revolution only four 
new members were added to the fixed number in Parlia- 
ment. Meanwhile, great cities had grown up which had 
no representation, though certain boroughs, once very 

^ Osgood, in Political Science Quarterly, XIII, 45. 
2 Lecky, American Revolution (Woodburn's ed.), 64. 

85 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

properly represented, had become uninhabited, and the 
lord who owned the ground elected the members to Parlia- 
ment, taking them, not from the district represented, but 
from any part of the kingdom. The franchise was usual- 
ly possessed either by the owners of the favored pieces 
of land or in the boroughs chiefly by persons who in- 
herited certain rights which marked them as freemen. 
A man had as many votes as there were constituencies in 
which he possessed the qualifications. 

In the colonial assemblies there was a more distinct 
territorial basis for representation, and changes of popu- 
lation brought changes of representation New towns 
sent new members to the provincial assembly, and held 
the right to be of great value. All adult men — even 
negroes in New England — owning a certain small amount 
of property could vote for these members. In the South 
only the landholders voted, but the supply of land was 
not limited, as in England, and it was easily acquired. 
Finally, the voter and the representative voted for must, 
as a rule, be residents of the same district. From the 
first the colonial political ideals were affected by new 
conditions. When they established representative gov- 
ernment they had no historic places sanctified by tradition 
to be the sole breeding-places of members of Parliament. 

Backed by such divergent traditions as these, the two 
parts of the British empire, or, more accurately, the 
dominant party in each section of the empire, faced each 
other upon a question of principle. Neither could believe 
in the honesty of the other, for each argued out of a dif- 
ferent past. The opponents of the Stamp Act could not 
understand the political thinking which held them to be 
represented in the British Parliament. "No taxation 
without representation" meant for the colonist that 
taxes ought to be levied by a legislative body in which 
was seated a person known and voted for by the person 
taxed. An Englishman only asked that there be "no 
taxation except that voted by the House of Commons." 

86 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

He was not concerned with the mode of election to that 
house or the interests of the persons composing it. The 
colonists called the Stamp Act tyranny, but the British 
government certainly intended none, for it acted upon 
the theory of virtual representation, the only kind of 
representation enjoyed by the great mass of Englishmen 
either at home or in the colonies. On that theory nothing 
was taxed except by the consent of the virtual repre- 
sentatives of those taxed. But, replied an American, in 
England the interests of electors and non-electors are the 
same. Security against any oppression of non-electors 
lies in the fact that it would be oppressive to electors 
also; but Americans have no such safeguard, for acts 
oppressive to them might be popular with English 
electors.^ 

When the news of the Stamp Act first came oversea 
there was apparent apathy. The day of enforcement was 
six months away, and there was nothing to oppose but a 
law. It was the fitting time for an agitator. Patrick 
Henry, a gay, unprosperous, and unknown country law- 
yer, had been carried into the Virginia House of Burgesses 
on the public approval of his impassioned denial, in the 
"Parson's Cause" (1763), of the king's right to veto a 
needed law passed by the colonial legislature. He now 
offered some resolutions against the stamp tax, denying 
the right of Parliament to legislate in the internal affairs 
of the colony.^ This "alarum bell to the disaffected," 
and the fiery speech which secured its adoption by an 
irresolute assembly, were applauded everywhere. Jeffer- 
son said of Henry, that he "spoke as Homer wrote." 

As soon as the names of the appointed stamp-distrib- 
uters were made known (August i, 1765) the masses ex- 
pressed their displeasure in a way unfortunately too com- 
mon in America. Throughout the land there was rifling 
of stamp-collectors' houses, threatening their lives, burn- 

^ Dulany, in Tyler, Lit. Hist, of Amer. Rev., 1, 104-105. 

2 Life, Correspondence, and Speeches of Patrick Henry, I, 84-89. 

87 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ing their records and documents, and even their houses. 
Their offices were demolished and their resignations com- 
pelled — in one case under a hanging effigy, suggestive 
of the result of refusal. The more moderate patriots can- 
celled their orders with British merchants, agreed not to 
remit their English debts, and dressed in homespun to 
avoid wearing imported clothes. 

On the morning that the act went into effect (November 
I, 1765) bells tolled the death of the nation. Shops were 
shut, flags hung at half-mast, and newspapers appeared 
with a death's-head where the stamp should have been. 
Mobs burned the stamps, and none were to be had to 
legalize even the most solemn and important papers. 
The courts ignored them and the governors sanctioned 
their omission. None could be used, because none could 
be obtained. All America endorsed the declaration of 
rights of the Stamp-Act Congress, which met in New 
York, October, 1765. It asserted that the colonists 
had the same liberties as British subjects. Circum- 
stances, they declared, prevented the colonists from be- 
ing represented in the House of Commons, therefore 
no taxes could be levied except by their respective 
legislatures.^ 

This great ado was a complete surprise to the British 
government. On the passage of the Stamp Act, Wal- 
pole had written,^ "There has been nothing of note in 
Parliament but one slight day on the American taxes." 
That expressed the common conception of its importance; 
and when the Grenville ministry fell (July, 1765), and 
was succeeded by that of Rockingham, the American sit- 
uation had absolutely nothing to do with the change. 
The new ministry was some months in deciding its policy. 
The king was one of the first to realize the situation, 
which he declared "the most serious that ever came be- 
fore Parliament" (December 5, 1765). Weak and un- 

^ Hart, Contemporaries, II, 402. 
2 WalpoWs Letters, February 12, 1765. 
88 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

willing to act as the new ministry was, the situation com- 
pelled attention. The king at first favored coercion of 
the rebellious colonies, but the English merchants, suf- 
fering from the suspended trade, urged Parliament to 
repeal the act. Their demand decided the ministry to 
favor retraction, just as formerly their influence had 
forced the navigation laws and the restrictions on colonial 
manufactures. If the king and landed gentry were re- 
sponsible for the immediate causes of the Revolution, 
the influence of the English commercial classes on legis- 
lation was the more ultimate cause. 

After one of the longest and most heated debates in 
the history of Parliament, under the advice of Benjamin 
Franklin, given at the bar of the House of Commons,^ 
and with the powerful aid of Pitt and Camden, the Stamp 
Act was repealed. Another act passed at the same time 
asserted Parliament's power to legislate for the colonies 
in all cases whatsoever.^ Thus the firebrand was left 
smouldering amid the inflammable colonial affairs; and 
Burke was quick to point out that the right to tax, or 
any other right insisted upon after it ceased to harmonize 
with prudence and expediency, would lead to disaster.^ 

It is plain to-day that the only way to keep up the 
nominal union between Great Britain and her colonies 
was to let them alone. The colonies felt strongly the 
ties of blood, interest, and affection which bound them 
to England.^ They would all have vowed, after the re- 
peal of the Stamp Act, that they loved their parent much 
more than they loved one another. They felt only the 
normal adult instinct to act independently. Could the 
British government have given up the imperial idea to 
which it so tenaciously clung, a federal union might have 
been preserved. 

The genius of dissolution, however, gained control of 

* Franklin, Works (Sparks' ed.), IV, 161-198. 

^ 6 George III, chap. xii. ^ Morley, Burke, 146. 

^ Franklin, Works (Sparks' ed.), IV, 169. 

89 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the ministry which next came into power. When illness 
withdrew Pitt from the "Mosaic Ministry," which he and 
Grafton had formed, Townshend's brilliant talents gave him 
the unquestioned lead. This man, who is said to have 
surpassed Burke in wit and Chatham in solid sense, de- 
termined to try again to tax the colonies for imperial 
purposes.^ He ridiculed the distinction between external 
and internal tax; but since the colonists had put stress 
on the illegality of the latter he laid the new tax on im- 
ported articles, and prepared to collect at the custom- 
houses. The income was to pay the salaries of colonial 
governors and judges, and thus render them independent 
of the tyrannical and contentious assemblies. Writs of 
assistance, so effective in enforcing the revenue laws but 
so hated by the colonists, were legalized. The collection 
of the revenue was further aided by admiralty courts, 
which should try the cases without juries, thus prevent- 
ing local sympathy from shielding the violators of the law.^ 
All the indifference into which America had relapsed, 
and which the agitators so much deplored, at once dis- 
appeared. The right of trial by jury was held to be in- 
alienable. The control of the judiciary and executive 
by the people was necessary to free government, asserted 
the pamphleteers. Parliament could not legalize "writs 
of assistance," they rashly cried. The former stickling 
at an internal tax was forgotten, and they objected to 
any tax whatever — a more logical position, which John 
Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, supported by the assertion 
"that any law, in so far as it creates expense, is in reality 
a tax." Samuel Adams drew up a circular letter, which 
the Massachusetts assembly dispatched to the other colo- 
nial assemblies, urging concerted action against this new 
attack on colonial liberties.^ The British government, 

* Walpole, Mentors of George III., II, 275, III, 23-27. 

2 7 George III., chaps, xli, xlvi, Ivi. See Macdonald, Select 
Charters, 320-330. 

3 Samuel Adams, Writings (Cushing's ed.), I, 184. 

90 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

through the colonial governors, attempted to squelch this 
letter, but the Massachusetts assembly refused to re- 
scind, and the other colonies were quick to embrace its 
cause. 

Signs were not wanting that the people as well as the 
political leaders were aroused. When the customs offi- 
cials, in 1768, seized John Hancock's sloop Liberty for 
alleged evasion of the customs duties, there was a riot 
which so frightened the officers that they fled to the fort 
and wrote to England for soldiers. 

This and other acts of resistance to the government led 
Parliament to urge the king to exercise a right given him 
by an ancient act to cause persons charged with treason 
to be brought to England for trial. The Virginia assem- 
bly protested against this, and sent their protest to the 
other colonies for approval.^ The governor dissolved the 
assembl}^ but it met and voted a non-importation agree- 
ment, which also met favor in the other colonies. This 
economic argument again proved effective, and the 
Townshend measures were repealed, except the tax on 
tea; Parliament thus doing everything but remove the 
offence — "fixing a badge of slavery upon the Americans 
without service to their masters."^ The old trade regu- 
lations also remained to vex the colonists. 

In order that no disproportionate blame may be at- 
tached to the king or his ministry for the bringing on of 
the Revolution, it must be noted that the English nation, 
the Parliament, and the king were all agreed when the 
sugar and stamp acts were passed; and though Parlia- 
ment mustered a good-sized minority against the Town- 
shend acts, nevertheless no unaccustomed influence in its 
favor was used by the king. Thus the elements of the 
cloud were all gathered before the king's personality be- 
gan to intensify the oncoming storm. The later acts of 
Parliament and the conduct of the king had the sole 

' Hutchinson, Hist, of Massachusetts Bay, III, 494. 
'^ Junius (ed. of 1799), II, 31. 

91 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

purpose of overcoming resistance to established govern- 
ment. Most of these coercive acts, though no part of 
the original policy, were perfectly constitutional even 
in times of peace. They must be considered in their 
historical setting, however, just as President Lincoln's 
extraordinary acts in a time of like national peril. Hence- 
forth we are dealing with the natural, though perhaps 
ill-judged, efforts of a government to repress a rebellion. 

After the riot which followed the seizure of the Liberty 
(June, 1768), two regiments of British soldiers were sta- 
tioned in Boston. The very inadequacy of the force 
made its relations with the citizens strained, for they 
resented without fearing it. After enduring months of 
jeering and vilification, the soldiers at last (March 5, 1770) 
fired upon a threatening mob, and four men were killed. 
Much was made of the "massacre," as it was called, be- 
cause it symbolized for the people the substitution of 
military for civil government. A Boston jury acquitted 
the soldiers, and, after a town-meeting, the removal of 
the two regiments was secured. 

A period of quiet followed until the assembly and the 
governor got into a debate over the theoretical rights of 
the colonists. To spread the results of this debate, 
Samuel Adams devised the "committees of correspond- 
ence,"^ which kept the towns of Massachusetts informed 
of the controversy in Boston. This furnished a model 
for the colonial committees of correspondence, which be- 
came the most efficient means for revolutionary organi- 
zation. They created public opinion, set war itself in 
motion, and were the embryos of new governments when, 
the old Were destroyed. 

The first provincial committee that met with general 
response from the other colonies was appointed by Vir- 
ginia, March 12, 1773, to keep its assembly informed of 
the "Gaspee Commission."^ The Gaspee was a sort of 

' Collins, Committees of Correspondence (Amer. Hist. Assoc, 
Report, 1901), I, 247. ^ Va. Cal. of State Pap.,Vlll, 1-2, 

92 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

revenue-cutter which, while too zealously enforcing the 
Navigation Acts, ran aground (June 9, 1772) in Nar- 
ragansett Bay. Some Providence men seized and burned 
the vessel, and the British government appointed a com- 
mission to inquire into the affair/ The commission met 
with universal opposition and had to report failure. 

From this time on the chain of events that led to open 
rebellion consists of a series of links so plainly joined 
and so well known that they need only the barest mention 
in this brief introduction to the actual war. The British 
government tried to give temporary aid to the East 
India Company by permitting the heavy revenue on tea 
entering English ports, through which it must pass be- 
fore being shipped to America, and by licensing the com- 
pany itself to sell tea in America.^ To avoid yielding the 
principle for which they had been contending, they re- 
tained at colonial ports the threepenny duty, which was 
all that remained of the Townshend revenue scheme. 
Ships loaded with this cheap tea came into the several 
American ports and were received with different marks 
of odium at different places. In Boston, after peaceful 
attempts to prevent the landing proved of no avail, an 
impromptu band of Indians threw the tea overboard, so 
that the next morning saw it lying like seaweed on 
Dorchester beach. 

This outrage, as it was viewed in England, caused a 
general demand for repressive measures, and the five 
"intolerable acts" were passed and sent oversea to do the 
last irremediable mischief. ^^ Boston's port was closed 
until the town should pay for the tea. Massachusetts' 
charter was annulled, its town-meetings irksomely re- 
strained, and its government so changed that its execu- 
tive officers would all be under the king's control. Two 

^ R. I. Col. Records, VII, 81, 108. 

2 Farrand, "Taxation of Tea," in Amer. Hist. Review, III, 269. 
^ Macdonald, Select Charters, 337-356; Force, Am. Archives, 
4th series, I, 216. 

93 • 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

other acts provided for the care and judicial privileges of 
the soldiers who soon came to enforce the acts. Finally, 
great offence was given the Protestant colonies by grant- 
ing religious freedom to the Catholics of Quebec, and the 
bounds of that colony were extended to the Ohio River, ^ 
thus arousing all the colonies claiming Western lands. 
Except in the case of Virginia, there was no real attack 
on their territorial integrity, but in the excitement there 
seemed to be. 

Some strong incentive for the colonies to act together 
had long been the only thing needed to send the flame of 
rebellion along the whole sea-coast. When the British 
soldiers began the enforcement of the punishment meted 
to Boston, sympathy and fear furnished the common 
bond. After several proposals of an intercolonial con- 
gress, the step was actually taken on a call from oppressed 
Massachusetts (June 17, 1774).^ Delegates from every 
colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia in September, 
1774. Seven of the twelve delegations were chosen not 
by the regular assemblies, but by revolutionary conven- 
tions called by local committees; while in Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, and Connecticut, three of the remaining 
five states, the assemblies that sent the delegates were 
wholly dominated by the revolutionary element. Local 
committees may therefore be said to have created the 
congress, and they would now stand ready to enforce its 
will. 

The assembled congress adopted a declaration of rights, 
but their great work was the forming an American associa- 
tion to enforce a non-importation and non-consumption 
agreement.^ Local committees were to see that all who 
traded with England or refused to associate were held up 
as enemies of their country. The delegates provided for 
a new congress in the following May, and adjourned. 

^ " Quebec Act and the American Revolution," in Yale Review, 
August, 1895. 2 Force, Am. Archives, 4th series, I, 421. 

3 Macdonald, Select Charters, 356, 362. 

94 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Meanwhile, General Gage and his "pretorian guard" 
in Boston were administering the government of Massa- 
chusetts with noteworthy results, A general court of 
the colony was summoned by Gage, who, repenting, tried 
to put it off; but it met, formed a provincial congress, and, 
settling down at Cambridge, governed the whole colony 
outside of Boston. It held the new royal government 
to be illegal, ordered the taxes paid to its own receiver 
instead of Gage's, and organized a militia. Gage at last 
determined to disarm the provincials. His raid to de- 
stroy the stores at Concord (April 19, 1775) resulted in 
an ignominious retreat and the loss of two hundred and 
seventy-three men, to say nothing of bringing sixteen 
thousand patriots swarming about Boston. 



THE OUTBREAK OF WAR, 1775 

Though mainly social and economic forces brought the 
revolution to the stage of open warfare, a Massachusetts 
politician had so used these forces that both his friends 
and enemies thought the blame or the honor to be his. 
Samuel Adams began to desire independence as early as 
1768. From that time it was his im wearying effort to 
keep alive the opposition to the British ministry. For 
years he sought to instil in the minds of rising youths the 
notion of independence. His adroit mind, always awake 
and tireless, toiled for but one end; and he was narrow- 
minded enough to be a perfect politician. Two opposing 
views could never occupy his mind at the same time. For 
sharp practices he had no aversion, but he used them for 
public good, as he saw it, and not for private gain. He 
was a public servant, great or small, from his earliest 
manhood — as inspector of chimneys, tax-collector, or 
moderator of town-meetings. He was ever a failure in 
' 95 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

business; in politics, shrewd and able. The New Eng- 
land town-meeting was the theatre of his action*/ he di- 
rected the Boston meetings, and the other towns fol- 
lowed. His tools were men. He was intimate with all 
classes, from the ship-yard roustabouts to the ministers 
of the gospel. In the canvass and caucus he was supreme. 
Others were always in the foreground, thinking that theirs 
was the glory. An enemy said that he had an unrivalled 
"talent for artfully and fallaciously insinuating" malice 
into the public mind. A friend dubbed him the "Colossus 
of debate." He was ready in tact and cool in moments 
of excitement; his reasoning and eloquence had a nervous 
simplicity, though there was little of fire, and he was sin- 
cere rather than rhetorical. 

Adams was of medium stature, but in his most intense 
moments he attained to a dignity of figure and gesture. 
His views were clear and his good sense abundant, so that 
he always received profound attention. Prematurely 
gray, palsied in hand, and trembling in voice, yet he had 
a mental audacity imparalleled. He was dauntless him- 
self, and thus roused and fortified the people. Nor were 
his efforts confined to the town-meeting, for he was also a 
voluminous newspaper writer. He showed no tolerance 
for an opponent, and his attacks were keenly felt. "Damn 
that Adams. Every dip of his pen stings like a horned 
snake," cried an enemy. Thus he went on canvassing, 
caucusing, haranguing, and writing until the maddened 
Gage attempted to seize him and the munitions of war 
which he and his fellow-politicians had induced the colon}^ 
to collect. Concord and Lexington and the pursuit into 
Boston were the results. 

At the close of that long day of fighting (April 19, 1775) 
it was plain that war had begim, and the Massachusetts 
politicians who had pushed matters to that stage may well 
have had misgivings. A single colony could have no hope 

* Wells, Samuel Adams, I. 

96 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

of success, and there was little in the past to make one 
believe that the thirteen colonies would unite even to de- 
fend their political liberties. Franklin gave a vivid pict- 
ure of their different forms of government, different 
laws, different interests, and, in some instances, dif- 
erent religious persuasions and different manners.^ 
Their jealousy of one another was, he declared, "so great 
that, however necessary a imion of the colonies has long 
been for their common defence, . . . yet they have never 
been able to effect such a union among themselves." 
They were more jealous of each other than of England, and 
though plans for union had been proposed by their ablest 
statesmen, they had refused to consider them.^ There 
were long-standing disputes between neighboring colonies 
over boundaries, over relations with the Indians, and over 
matters of trade. 

The greatest danger, however, that confronted the 
American cause was political division on the subject of 
the relations with England. As the quarrel with the 
mother-country grew more bitter, it was seen that the 
British government had many friends in America who, 
if they did not defend the action of the ministry, at least 
frowned upon the violent opposition to it. They believed 
that America's best interests lay in the union with Great 
Britain. The aristocracy of culture, of dignified profes- 
sions and callings, of official rank and hereditary wealth 
tended to side with the central government.^ The more 
prosperous and contented men had no grievances, and 
conservatism was the character one would expect in them. 
They denounced the agitators as demagogues and their 
followers as "the mob." 

Through the long ten years of unrest preceding the 
Revolution, these Tories, as they were called, had suffered 
at the hands of mobs, and now, when Gage was powerless 

^ Franklin, Works (Sparks' ed.), IV, 41. 

^Franklin's Plan, in Works (Sparks' ed.), Ill, 26, 36-55. 

^ Van Tyne, Loyalists, 5. 

97 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

outside of Boston, an active persecution of them began. ^ 
Millers refused to grind their corn, labor would not serve 
them, and they could neither buy nor sell. Men refused 
to worship in the same church with them. They were de- 
nounced as "infamous betrayers of their country." Com- 
mittees published their names, "sending them down to 
posterity with the infamy they deserve." After the siege 
of Boston had begun, those who were even suspected of 
Toryism, as their support of the king was called, were 
regarded as enemies in the camp. The Massachusetts 
committees compelled them to sign recantations or con- 
fined them in jails for refusal. If they escaped they were 
pursued with hue and cry. 

Some fled to other colonies, but found that, "like Cain, 
they had some discouraging mark upon them." In exile 
they learned that the patriot wrath visited their property: 
their private coaches were burned or pulled in pieces. A 
rich importer's goods were destroyed or stolen, and his 
effigy was hung up in sight of his house during the day 
and burned at night. Beautiful estates, where was 
"every beauty of art or nature, every elegance, which it 
cost years of care and toil in bringing to perfection," were 
laid waste. Looking upon this work of ruin, a despairing 
loyalist cried that the Americans were "as blind and mad 
as Samson, bent upon pulling the edifice down upon their 
heads to perish in the ruins." 

The violence of the patriots' attack upon the loyalists 
seemed for a time to eliminate the latter from the struggle. 
The friends of royal power in America expected too much, 
and while the king's enemies were organizing they waited 
for him to crush the rising rebellion. They looked on with 
wonder as the signal flew from one local committee to an- 
other over thirteen colonies, who now needed only a glow- 
ing fact like Lexington to fuse them into one defensive 
whole. The news reached Putnam's Connecticut farm in 

^ Van Tyne, Loyalists, chap. i. 

98 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

a day; Arnold, at New Haven, had it the next day, and in 
four days it had reached New York/ Unknown messengers 
carried it through Philadelphia, past the Chesapeake, on to 
Charleston, and within twenty days the news in many 
garbled forms was evoking a common spirit of patriotism 
from Maine to Georgia. It was commonly believed that 
America must be saved from "abject slavery" by the 
bands of patriots encompassing Boston. 

The farmers and mechanics who had hurried from their 
work to drive the British from Concord into Boston were 
not an army. They settled down in a great half-circle 
around the port with a common purpose of compelling 
Gage to take to his ships, but with no definite plan. Con- 
fusion was everywhere. Men were coming and going, and 
there were no regular enlistments.^ A few natural leaders 
were doing wonders in holding them together.^ Among 
them the brave and courteous Joseph Warren, the warm 
friend of Samuel ^Adams and zealous comrade in the recent 
work of agitation, was conquering insubordination by the 
manly modesty and gentleness of his character. Others 
who were old campaigners of the French and Indian wars 
worked ceaselessly to bring order out of chaos. 

Yet not even the fanatic zeal of the siege could banish 
provincial jealousies. There were as many leaders as there 
were colonies represented. New Hampshire men were led 
by John Stark, a hero of the French war ; Connecticut men 
were under Israel Putnam, more picturesque as a wolf- 
slayer than able as a leader. Nathanael Greene, the philo- 
sophic and literary blacksmith, commanded the Rhode 
Island militia.^ It was with difficulty that "the grand 
American army," as the Massachusetts congress called it, 
finally intrusted the chief command to General Artemas 
Ward, who, in turn, was controlled by the Massachusetts 
committee of safety. 

^ Force, Am. Archives, 4th series, II, 365-368. 

^ Hatch, Administration of the Revolutionary Army, 1. 

^ Frothingham, Siege o^ Boston, 100-102. * Ibid., 99-101. 

99 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Even with some organization and a leader there was 
little outward semblance of an army. In the irregular 
dress, brown and green hues were the rule. Uniforms like 
those of the British regulars, the himting-shirt XDf the back- 
woodsman, and even the blankets of savages were seen 
side by side in the ranks of the first patriot armies. There 
was little distinction between officer and private.^ Each 
company chose its own officers out of the ranks ,^ and the 
private could not understand why he should salute his 
erstwhile friend and neighbor or ask his permission to go 
home. The principle of social democracy was carried into 
military life to the great detriment of the service. Differ- 
ence in rank was ignored by the officers themselves, who 
in some cases did menial work about camp to curry favor 
with their men. 

Fortunately, there was in this raw militia a good leaven 
of soldiers seasoned and trained in the war with France. 
These men led expeditions to the islands ®f Boston Harbor 
in the effort to get the stock before it should be seized by 
the British.^ Numerous slight engagements resulted, turn- 
ing favorably, as a rule, for the patriots, and the new re- 
cruits gained courage with experience. Thus nearly two 
months passed away, and an elated patriot wrote that 
"danger and war are become pleasing, and injured virtue 
is now aroused to avenge herself." 

The only way to drive Gage out of Boston was to seize 
one of the commanding hill-tops either in Dorchester or 
Charlestown, whence they might open a cannonade on the 
city. Gage saw this danger, and with the arrival of rein- 
forcements under Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne a plan 
was made to get control of the dangerous hill-tops. With 
ten thousand well-equipped soldiers to pit against an ill- 
trained and poorly commanded multitude of farmers the 

^ Bolton, The Private Soldier Under Washington, 90; Force, 
Ani. Archives, 4th series, III, 2. 

2 Hatch, Administration of the Revolutionary Army, 13, 14. 
^ Frothingham, Siege of Boston, 105, 106. 

100 



THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

task seemed easy. After trying to terrify the rebels by 
threatening with the gallows all who should be taken with 
arms, and offering to pardon those who would lay them 
down, Gage prepared to execute this plan. The patriots 
forestalled him by sending twelve himdred men imder the 
veteran Colonel Prescott to seize Bimker Hill, in Charles- 
town. 



VII 
THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 1775. 

IN May, 1775, the British force in Boston had increased 
by fresh arrivals from England and Ireland to ten 
thousand men. The man-of-war Cerberus arrived on the 
25th with Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne — three 
officers experienced in the military tactics of Europe, but 
little prepared for service here. They were surprised at 
the aspect of affairs, and Gage was reproached for his 
apparent supineness. However, unity of action was neces- 
sary, and the new-comers heartily co-operated with Gage 
in his plans, such as they were, for dispersing the rebel host 
that hemmed him in. He issued a proclamation on June 
12 insulting 'in words and menacing in tone. It declared 
martial law; pronounced those in arms and their abettors 
"rebels, parricides of the Constitution," and offered a free 
pardon to all who would forthwith return to their allegiance, 
except John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were out- 
lawed, and for whose apprehension as traitors a reward 
was offered. This proclamation, so arrogant and insult- 
ing, served only to exasperate the people. In the mean 
while several skirmishes had occurred between parties of 
the British regulars and the provincials, upon some of the 
cultivated islands that dot the harbor of Boston. 

At this time (May, 1775) but little progress had been 
made by the Americans in erecting fortifications. Some 
breastworks had been thrown up at Cambridge, near the 
foot of Prospect Hill, and a small redoubt had been formed 
at Roxbury. The right wing of the besieging army, under 
General Thomas, was at Roxbury, consisting of four thou- 

102 



. THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

sand Massachusetts troops, including four artillery compa- 
nies, with field-pieces and a few heavy cannon. The Rhode 
Island forces, under Greene, were at Jamaica Plains, and 
near there was a greater part of General Spencer's Con- 
necticut regiment. General Ward commanded the left 
wing at Cambridge, which consisted of fifteen Massa- 
chusetts regiments, the battalion of artillery under Gridley, 
and Putnam's regiment, with other Connecticut troops. 
Most of the Connecticut forces were at Inman's farm. 
Paterson's regiment was at the breastwork on Prospect 
Hill, and a large guard was stationed at Lechmere's Point. 
Three companies of Gerrish's regiment were at Chelsea; 
Stark's regiment was at Medford, and Reid's at Charles- 
town Neck, with sentinels reaching to Penny Ferry and 
Bunker Hill. 

It was made known to the Committee of Safety that 
General Gage had fixed upon the night of June i8 to 
take possession of and fortify Bunker Hill and Dorchester 
Heights. This brought matters to a crisis, and measures 
were taken to perfect the blockade of Boston. The Com- 
mittee of Safety ordered Colonel Prescott, with a detach- 
ment of one thousand men, including a company of artil- 
lery, with two field-pieces, to march at night and throw up 
intrenchments upon Bunker Hill, an eminence just within 
the peninsula of Charlestown, and commanding the great 
northern road from Boston, as well as a considerable por- 
tion of the town. Bunker Hill begins at the isthmus, and 
rises gradually for about three hundred yards, forming a 
round, smooth hill, sloping on two sides toward the water, 
and connected by a ridge of ground on the south with the 
heights now known as Breed's Hill. This was a well- 
known public place, the name, "Bunker Hill," being found 
in the town records and in deeds from an early period. 
Not so with "Breed's Hill," for it was not named in any 
description of streets previous to 1775, and appears to 
have been called after the owners of the pastures into 
which it was divided, rather than by the common name 

103 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

of Breed's Hill. Thus, Monument Square was called 
Russell's Pasture; Breed's Pasture lay farther south, and 
Green's Pasture was at the head of Green Street. The 
easterly and westerly sides of this height were steep. On 
the east, at its base, were brick - kilns, clay - pits, and 
much sloughy land. On the west side, at the base, was the 
most settled part of the town. Moulton's Point, a name 
coeval with the settlement of the town, constituted the 
southeastern corner of the peninsula. A part of this tract 
formed what is called Morton's Hill. Bunker Hill was 
one hundred and ten feet high, Breed's Hill sixty-two feet, 
and Moulton's Hill thirty-five feet. The principal street of 
the peninsula was Main Street, which extended from the 
Neck to the ferry. A road ran over Bunker Hill, around 
Breed's Hill, to Moulton's Point. The westerly portions 
of these eminences contained fine orchards. 

A portion of the regiments of Prescott, Frye, and Bridge, 
and a fatigue party of two hundred Connecticut troops 
with intrenching tools, paraded in the Cambridge camp 
at six o'clock in the evening. They were furnished with 
packs and blankets, and ordered to take provisions for 
twenty-four hours. Samuel Gridley's company of artil- 
lery joined them, and the Connecticut troops were placed 
under the command of Thomas Knowlton, a captain in 
Putnam's regiment, who was afterward killed in the battle 
on Harlem Heights. After an impressive prayer from the 
lips of President Langdon, of Harvard College, Colonel 
Prescott and Richard Gridley, preceded by two servants 
with dark lanterns, commenced their march, at the head 
of the troops, for Charlestown. It was about nine o'clock 
at night, the sky clear and starry, and the v/eather very 
warm. Strict silence was enjoined, and the object of the 
expedition was not known to the troops until they arrived 
at Charlestown Neck, where they were joined by Major 
Brooks, of Bridge's regiment, and General Putnam. A 
guard of ten men was placed in Charlestown, and the main 
body marched over Bunker Hill. A council was held, to 

104 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

select the best place for the proposed fortification. The 
order was explicit, to fortify Bunker Hill; but Breed's Hill 
being nearer Boston, and appearing to be a more eligible 
place, it was concluded to proceed to fortify it, and to 
throw up works, also, on Bunker Hill, to cover a retreat, 
if necessary, across Charlestown Neck. Colonel Gridley 
marked out the lines of the proposed fortifications, and, at 
about midnight, the men, having thrown off their packs 
and stacked their arms, began their perilous work — peril- 
ous, because British sentinels and British ships-of-war 
were almost within sound of their picks. 

Officers and men labored together with all their might, 
with pickaxes and spades, and were cheered on in their 
work by the distant signals of safety — "All's well!" — that 
came from the shipping and the sentinels at the foot of 
Copp's Hill. It proclaimed that they were still imdis- 
covered; and at every cry of "All's well!" they plied their 
tools with increased vigor. When the day dawned, at 
about four o'clock, they had thrown up intrenchments six 
feet high; and a strong redoubt, which was afterward the 
admiration of the enemy, loomed up on the green height 
before the wondering eyes of the astonished Britons like 
a work of magic. The British officers could hardly be 
convinced that it was the result of a few hours' labor only, 
but deemed it the work of days. Gage saw at once how 
foolish he had been in not taking possession of this strong 
point, as advised, while it was in his power to do so. 

The fortification was first discovered at dawn, by the 
watchmen on board the British man-of-war Lively. With- 
out waiting for orders, the captain put springs upon his 
cables, and opened a fire on the American works. The noise 
of the cannon aroused the sleepers in Boston, and when the^ 
sun arose on that bright morning, every eminence and roof 
in the city swarmed with people, astonished at the strange 
apparition upon Breed's Hill. The shots from the Lively 
did no harm, and, defended by their intrenchments, the 
Americans plied their tools in strengthening their works 

105 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



within, until called to lay aside the pick and shovel for 
gun and knapsack. 

On June 17 Admiral Graves, the naval commander at 
Boston, ordered the firing to cease; but it was soon re- 
newed, not only by the shipping, but from a battery of six 
gtms upon Copp's Hill in the city. Gage summoned a 

council of war early 
in the morning. As 
it was evident that the 
Americans were rap- 
idly gaining strength, 
and that the safety of 
the town was endan- 
gered, it was unani- 
mously resolved to 
send out a force to 
drive them from the 
peninsula of Charles- 
town and destroy their 
works on the heights. 
It was decided, also, 
to make the attack 
in front, and preparations were made accordingly. The 
drums beat to arms, and Boston was soon in a tumult. 
Dragoons galloping, artillery trains rumbling, and the 
marching and countermarching of the regulars and loyal- 
ists, together with the clangor of the church bells, struck 
dismay into many a heart before stout in the presence of 
British protectors. It is said that the danger which sur- 
rounded the city converted many Tories into patriots ; and 
the selectmen, in the midst of that fearful commotion, re- 
ceived large accessions to their list of professed friends 
from the ranks of the timid loyalists. 

Toward noon between two and three thousand picked 
men from the British army, under the command of Gen- 
eral Sir William Howe and General Pigot, embarked in 
twenty-eight barges, part from the Long Wharf and some 

106 




PLAN OF THE REDOUBT ON BREED S HILL 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

from the North Battery, in Boston, and landed at Morton's, 
or Moulton's Point, beyond the eastern foot of Breed's Hill, 
covered by the guns of the Falcon and other vessels. 

The Americans had worked faithfully on their intrench- 
ments all the morning, and were greatly encouraged by the 
voice and example of Prescott, who exposed himself, with- 
out care, to the random shots of the battery on Copp's 
Hill. He supposed, at first, that the enemy would not 
attack him, but, seeing the movements in the city, he was 
convinced to the contrary, and comforted his toiling troops 
with assurances of certain victory. Confident of such a 
result himself, he would not at first send to General Ward 
for a reinforcement; but between nine and ten o'clock, by 
advice of his officers, Major Brooks was dispatched to head- 
quarters for that purpose. General Putnam had urged 
Ward early in the morning to send fresh troops to relieve 
those on duty; but only a portion of Stark's regiment was 
allowed to go, as the general apprehended that Cambridge 
would be the principal point of attack. Convinced other- 
wise, by certain intelligence, the remainder of Stark's regi- 
ment, and the whole of Reed's corps, on the Neck, were 
ordered to reinforce Prescott. At twelve o'clock the men 
in the redoubt ceased work, sent off their intrenching tools, 
took some refreshments, hoisted the New England flag, and 
prepared to fight. The intrenching tools were sent to 
Bunker Hill, where, under the directions of General Put- 
nam, the men began to throw up a breastwork. Some of 
the more timid soldiers made the removal of the tools a 
pretext for leaving the redoubt, and never returned. 

It was between twelve and one o'clock when the British 
troops, consisting of the fifth, thirty-eighth, forty- third, 
and fifty-second battalions of infantry, two companies of 
grenadiers, and two of light-infantry, landed, their rich 
uniforms and arms flashing and glittering in the noonday 
sun, making an imposing and formidable display. General 
Howe reconnoitred the American works, and, while wait- 
ing for reinforcements, which he had solicited from Gage, 

107 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

allowed his troops to dine. When the intelligence of the 
landing of the enemy reached Cambridge, two miles dis- 
tant, there was great excitement in the camp and through- 
out the town. The drums beat to arms, the bells were 
rung, and the people and military were speedily hurrying 
in every direction. General Ward used his own regiment, 
and those of Paterson and Gardner and a part of Bridge's, 
for the defence of Cambridge. The remainder of the 
Massachusetts troops were ordered to Charlestown, and 
thither General Putnam conducted those of Connecticut. 

At about two o'clock the reinforcement for Howe ar- 
rived, and landed at the present navy-yard. It consisted 
of the Forty-seventh battalion of infantry, a battalion of 
marines, and some grenadiers and light infantry. The 
whole force (about four thousand men) was commanded 
and directed by the most skilful British officers then in 
Boston; and every man preparing to attack the undis- 
ciplined provincials was a drilled soldier, and quite perfect 
in the art of war. It was an hour of the deepest anxiety 
among the patriots on Breed's Hill. They had observed 
the whole martial display, from the time of the embarka- 
tion until the forming of the enemy's line for battle. For 
the Americans, as yet, very little succor had arrived. 
Hunger and thirst annoyed them, while the labors of the 
night and morning weighed them down with excessive 
fatigue. Added to this was the dreadful suspicion that 
took possession of their minds, when only feeble reinforce- 
ments arrived, that treachery had placed them there for 
the purpose of sacrifice. Yet they could not doubt the 
patriotism of their principal officers, and before the action 
commenced their suspicions were scattered to the winds 
by the arrival of their beloved Doctor Warren and General 
Pomeroy. Warren, who was president of the Provincial 
Congress, then sitting at Watertown, seven miles distant, 
informed of the landing of the enemy, hastened toward 
Charlestown, though suffering from sickness and exhaus- 
tion. He had been commissioned a major-general four 

io8 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

days before. Putnam, who was at Cambridge, forwarding 
provisions and reinforcements to Charlestown, tried to 
dissuade him from going into the battle. Warren was not 
to be diverted from his purpose, and, mounting a horse, he 
sped across the Neck and entered the redoubt, amid the 
loud cheers of the provincials, just as Howe gave orders 
to' advance. Colonel Prescott offered the command to 
Warren, as his superior, when the latter replied, **I am 
come to fight as a volunteer, and feel honored in being 
allowed to serve imder so brave an officer." 

While the British troops were forming, and preparing 
to march along the Mystic River for the purpose of flank- 
ing the Americans and gaining their rear, the artillery, 
with two field-pieces, and Captain Knowlton, with the 
Connecticut troops, left the redoubt, took a position near 
Bunker Hill, and formed a breastwork seven hundred feet 
in length, which served an excellent purpose. A little in 
front of a strong stone and rail fence, Knowlton built an- 
other, and between the two was placed a quantity of new- 
mown grass. This apparently slight breastwork formed 
a valuable defence to the provincials. 

It was now three in the afternoon. The provincial 
troops were placed in an attitude of defence as the Brit- 
ish column moved slowly forward to the attack. Colonel 
Prescott and the original constructors of the redoubt, ex- 
cept the Connecticut troops, were within the works. Gen- 
eral Warren also took post in the redoubt. Gridley and 
Callender's artillery companies were between the breast- 
works and rail fence on the eastern side. A few troops, 
recalled from Charlestown after the British landed, and 
a part of Warner's company, lined the cart-way on the 
right of the redoubt. The Connecticut and New Hamp- 
shire forces were at the rail fence on the west of the re- 
doubt, and three companies were stationed in the main 
street at the foot of Breed's Hill. 

Before General Howe moved from his first position he 
sent out strong flank guards, and directed his heavy artil- 

109 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 




lery to play upon the American line. At the same time a 
blue flag was displayed as a signal, and the guns upon 
Copp's Hill and the ships and floating batteries in the 
river poured a storm of round-shot upon the redoubt. A 
furious cannonade was opened at the same moment upon 

no 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

the right wing of the provincial army at Roxbury, to 
prevent reinforcements being sent by General Thomas 
to Charlestown. Gridley and Callender, with their field- 
pieces, returned a feeble response to the heavy guns of the 
enemy. Gridley's guns were soon disabled; while Cal- 
lender, who alleged that his cartridges were too large, 
withdrew to Bunker Hill. Putnam was there, and ordered 
him back to his first position. He disobeyed, and nearly 
all his men, more courageous than he, deserted him. In 
the meanwhile. Captain Walker, of Chelmsford, with fifty 
resolute men, marched down the hill near Charlestown and 
greatly annoyed the enemy's left flank. Finding their posi- 
tion very perilous, they marched over to the Mystic, and 
did great execution upon the right flank. Walker was 
there wounded and made prisoner, but the greater part of 
'his men succeeded in gaining the redoubt. 

Under cover of the discharges of artillery the British 
army moved up the slope of Breed's Hill toward the Ameri- 
can works in two divisions, General Howe with the right 
wing, and General Pigot with the left. The former was 
to penetrate the American lines at the rail fence; the latter 
to storm the redoubt. They had not proceeded far before 
the firing of their artillery ceased, in consequence of dis- 
covering that balls too large for the field-pieces had been 
sent over from Boston. Howe ordered the pieces to be 
loaded with grape; but they soon became useless, on ac- 
count of the miry grotmd at the base of the hill. Small 
arms and bayonets now became their reliance. 

Silently the British troops, burdened with heavy knap- 
sacks, toiled up the ascent toward the redoubt in the heat 
of a bright summer's sun. All was silent within the Ameri- 
can intrenchments, and very few provincials were to be 
seen by the approaching battalions ; but within those breast- 
works, and in reserve behind the hills, crouched fifteen 
hundred determined men, ready, at a prescribed signal, to 
fall upon the foe. The provincials had but a scanty supply 
of ammimition, and, to avoid wasting it by ineffectual shots, 

8 III 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Prescott gave orders not to fire until the enemy were so 
near that the whites of their eyes could be seen. "Then," 
he said, "aim at their waistbands; and be sure to pick off 
the commanders, known by their handsome coats!" The 
enemy were not so sparing of their powder and ball, but 
when within gunshot of the apparently deserted works 
commenced a random firing. Prescott could hardly re- 
strain his men from responding, and a few did disobey his 
orders and returned the fire. Putnam hastened to the 
spot, and threatened to cut down the first man who should 
again disobey orders, and quiet was restored. At length 
the enemy reached the prescribed distance, when, waving 
his sword over his head, Prescott shouted, "Fire!" Ter- 
rible was the effect of the volley that ensued. Whole 
platoons of the British regulars were laid upon the earth 
like grass by the mower's scythe. Other deadly volleys 
succeeded, and the enemy, disconcerted, broke and fled 
toward the water. The provincials, joyed at seeing the 
regulars fly, wished to pursue them, and many leaped the 
rail fence for the purpose; but the prudence of the Ameri- 
can officers kept them in check, and in a few minutes they 
were again within their works, prepared to receive a second 
attack from the British troops, that were quickly rallied 
by Howe. Colonel Prescott praised and encouraged his 
men, while General Putnam rode to Bunker Hill to urge 
on reinforcements. Many had arrived at Charlestown 
Neck, but were deterred from crossing by the enfilading 
fire o the Glasgow and two armed gondolas near the 
causeway. Portions of regiments were scattered upon 
Bunker Hill and its vicinity, and these General Putnam, 
by entreaties and commands, endeavored to rally. Colonel 
Gerrish, who was very corpulent, became completely ex- 
hausted by fatigue; and other officers, wholly unused to 
warfare, coward-like kept at a respectful distance from dan- 
ger. Few additional troops could be brought to Breed's 
Hill before the second attack was made. 

The British troops, reinforced by four hundred marines 

112 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

from Boston, under Major Small, accompanied by Doctor 
Jeffries, the army surgeon, advanced toward the redoubt 
in the same order as at first, General Howe boldly leading 
the van, as he had promised. It was a mournful march 
over the dead bodies of scores of their fellow soldiers; but 
with true English courage they pressed onward, their 
artillery doing more damage to the Americans than at 
the first a:sault. It had moved along the narrow road 
between the tongue of land and Breed's Hill, and when 
within a hundred yards of the rail fence, and on a line 
with the breastworks, opened a galling fire, to cover the 
advance of the other assailants. In the meanwhile, a 
carcass and some hot shot were thrown from Copp's Hill 
into Charlestown, which set the village on fire. The houses 
were chiefly of wood, and in a short time nearly two hun- 
dred buildings were in flames, shrouding in dense smoke 
the heights in the rear whereon the provincials were posted. 
Beneath this veil the British hoped to rush unobserved up 
to the breastworks, scale them, and drive the Americans 
out at the point of the bayonet. At that moment a gentle 
breeze, which appeared to the provincials like the breath 
of a guardian angel — the first zephyr that had been felt 
on that sultry day — came from the west and swept the 
smoke away seaward, exposing to the full view of the 
Americans the advancing columns of the enemy, who 
fired as they approached, but with little execution. Colo- 
nels Brener, Nixon, and Buckminster were woimded, 
and Major Moore was killed. As before, the Americans 
reserved their fire until the British were within the pre- 
scribed distance, when they poured forth their leaden hail 
with such sure aim and terrible effect that whole ranks of 
officers and men were slain. General Howe was at the 
head, and once he was left entirely alone, his aids and all 
about him having perished. The British line recoiled, and 
gave way in several parts, and it required the utmost 
exertion in all the remaining officers, from the generals 
down to the subalterns, to repair the disorder which this 

113 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

hot and unexpected fire had produced. All their efforts 
were at first fruitless, and the troops retreated in great 
disorder to the shore. 

General Clinton, who had beheld the progress of the 
battle with mortified pride, seeing the regulars repulsed a 
second time, crossed over in a boat, followed by a small 
reinforcement, and joined the broken army as a volunteer. 
Some of the British officers remonstrated against leading 
the men a third time to certain destruction; but others, 
who had ridiculed American valor, and boasted loudly of 
British invincibility, resolved on victory or death. The 
incautious loudness of speech of a provincial, during the 
second attack, declaring that the ammunition was nearly 
exhausted, gave the enemy encouraging and important 
information. Howe immediately rallied his troops and 
formed them for a third attack, but in a different way. 
The weakness of the point between the breastwork and the 
rail fence had been discovered by Howe, and thitherward 
he determined to lead the left wing with the artillery, while 
a show of attack should be made at the rail fence on the 
other side. His men were ordered to stand the fire of the 
provincials, and then make a furious charge with bayonets. 

So long were the enemy making preparations for a third 
attack that the provincials began to imagine that the 
second repulse was to be final. They had time to refresh 
themselves a little and recover from that complete ex- 
haustion which the labor of the day had produced. It was 
too true that their ammunition was almost exhausted, 
and, being obliged to rely upon that for defence, as com- 
paratively few of the muskets were furnished with bayo- 
nets, they began to despair. The few remaining cartridges 
within the redoubt were distributed by Prescott, and those 
soldiers who were destitute of bayonets resolved to club 
their arms and use the breeches of their gims when their 
powder should be gone. The loose stones in the redoubt 
were collected for use as missiles if necessary, and all re- 
solved to fight as long as a ray of hope appeared. 

114 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

During this preparation on Breed's Hill, all was con- 
fusion elsewhere. General Ward was at Cambridge, with- 
out sufficient staff officers to convey his orders. Henry 
(afterward General) Knox was in the reconnoitring service, 
as a volunteer, during the day, and upon his reports Ward 
issued his orders. Late in the afternoon, the commanding 
general despatched his own, with Paterson and Gardner's 
regiments, to the field of action; but to the raw recruits 
the aspect of the narrow Neck was terrible, swept as it 
was by the British cannon. Colonel Gardner succeeded in 
leading three himdred men to Bunker Hill, where Putnam 
set them intrenching, but soon ordered them to the lines. 
Gardner was advancing boldly at their head, when a 
musket-ball entered his groin and wounded him mortally. 
His men were thrown into confusion, and very few of them 
engaged in the combat that followed, imtil the retreat 
commenced. Other regiments failed to reach the lines. 
A part of Gerrish's regiment, led by Adjutant Christian 
Febiger, a Danish officer, who afterward accompanied 
Arnold to Quebec and was distinguished at Stony Point, 
reached the lines just as the action commenced, and 
effectually galled the British left wing. Putnam, in the 
mean time, was using his utmost exertions to form the 
confused troops on Bunker Hill and get fresh corps with 
bayonets across the Neck. 

All was order and firmness at the redoubt on Breed's 
Hill as the enemy advanced. The artillery of the British 
swept the interior of the breastwork from end to end, 
destroying many of the provincials, among whom was 
Lieutenant Prescott, a nephew of the colonel command- 
ing. The remainder were driven within the redoubt, and 
the breastwork was abandoned. Each shot of the pro- 
vincials was true to its aim, and Colonel Abercrombie 
and Majors Williams and Speedlove fell. Howe was 
wounded in the foot, but continued fighting at the head 
of his men. His boats were at Boston, and retreat he 
could not. His troops pressed forward to the redoubt, 

115 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

now nearly silent, for the provincials' last grains of powder 
were in their guns. Only a ridge of earth separated the 
combatants, and the assailants scaled it. The first that 
reached the parapet were repulsed by a shower of stones. 
Major Pitcairn, who led the troops at Lexington, ascend- 
ing the parapet, cried out, "Now for the glory of the 
marines!" and was immediately shot by a negro soldier. 
Again numbers of the enemy leaped upon the parapet, 
while others assailed the redoubt on three sides. Hand 
to hand the belligerents struggled, and the gun-stocks of 
many of the provincials were shivered to pieces by the 
heavy blows they were made to give. The enemy poured 
into the redoubt in such numbers that Prescott, perceiving 
the folly of longer resistance, ordered a retreat. Through 
the enemy's ranks the Americans hewed their way, many 
of them walking backward and dealing deadly blows with 
their musket-stocks. Prescott and Warren were the last 
to leave the redoubt. Colonel Gridley, the engineer, was 
wounded, and borne off safely. Prescott received several 
thrusts from bayonets and rapiers in his clothing, but 
escaped unhurt. Warren was the last man that left the 
works. He was a short distance from the redoubt, on his 
way toward Bunker Hill, when a musket -ball passed 
through his head, killing him instantly. He was left on 
the field, for all were flying in the greatest confusion, pur- 
sued by the victors, who remorselessly bayoneted those who 
fell in their way. 

Major Jackson had rallied Gardner's men upon Bunker 
Hill, and, pressing forward with three companies of Ward's, 
and Febiger's party from Gerrish's regiment, poured a de- 
structive fire upon the enemy between Breed's and Bunker 
Hill, and bravely covered the retreat from the redoubt. 
The Americans at the rail fence, under Stark, Reed, and 
Knowlton, reinforced by Clark, Coit, and Chester's Con- 
necticut companies and a few other troops, maintained 
their ground, in the meanwhile, with great firmness, and 
successfully resisted every attempt of the enemy to turn 

ii6 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

their flank. This service was very valuable, for it saved 
the main body, retreating from the redoubt, from being 
cut off. But when these saw their brethren, with the 
chief commander, flying before the enemy, they too fled. 
Putnam used every exertion to keep them firm. He 
commanded, pleaded, cursed and swore like a madman, 
and was seen at every point in the van trying to rally the 
scattered corps, swearing that victory should crown the 
Americans. "Make a stand here!' he exclaimed; "we 
can stop them yet! In God s name, fire and give them 
one shot more!" The gallant old Pomeroy, also, with his 
shattered musket in his hand, implored them to rally, but 
in vain. The whole body retreated across the Neck, where 
the fire from the Glasgow and gondolas slew many of them. 
They left five of their six field -pieces and all their in- 
trenching tools upon Bunker Hill, and they retreated to 
Winter Hill, Prospect Hill, and to Cambridge. The Brit- 
ish, greatly exhausted, and properly cautious, did not 
follow, but contented themselves with taking possession 
of the peninsula. Clinton advised an immediate attack 
upon Cambridge, but Howe was too cautious or too timid 
to make the attempt. His troops lay upon their arms 
all night on Bunker Hill, and the Americans did the same 
on Prospect Hill, a mile distant. Two British field-pieces 
played upon them, but without effect, and, both sides feel- 
ing unwilling to renew the action, hostilities ceased. The 
loss of the Americans in this engagement was one hundred 
and fifteen killed and missing, three hundred and five 
wounded, and thirty who were taken prisoners; in all, four 
hundred and fifty. The British loss is not positively known. 
Gage reported two hundred and twenty-six killed, and 
eight hundred and twenty-eight wounded; in all, ten 
himdred and fifty-four. In this number are included 
eighty -nine officers. The Provincial Congress of Massa- 
chusetts, from the best information they could obtain, re- 
ported the British loss at about fifteen hundred. The 
number of buildings consumed in Charles town, before 

117 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

midnight, was about four hundred; and the estimated 
loss of property (most of the famiUes, with their effects, 
having moved out) was nearly six hundred thousand 
dollars. 

The ntimber engaged in this battle was small, yet con- 
temporary writers and eye-witnesses represent it as one 
of the most determined and severe on record. There was 
absolutely no victory in the case. The most indomitable 
courage was displayed on both sides; and when the pro- 
vincials had retired but a short distance, so wearied and 
exhausted were all that neither party desired more fighting, 
if we except Colonel Prescott, who earnestly petitioned to 
be allowed to lead a fresh corps that evening and retake 
Breed's Hill. It was a terrible day for Boston and its 
vicinity, for almost every family had a representative in 
one of the two armies. Fathers, husbands, sons, and 
brothers were in the affray, and deep was the mental an- 
guish of the women of the city, who, from roofs and steeples 
and every elevation, gazed with streaming eyes upon the 
carnage, for the battle raged in full view of thousands of 
interested spectators in the town and upon the adjoining 
hills. In contrast with the terrible scene were the cloud- 
less sky and brilliant sun.^ 

^"Bunker Hill Monument celebrates a fact more important 
than most victories — namely, that the raw provincials faced the 
British army for two hours, they themselves being under so little 
organization that it is impossible to tell even at this day who was 
their commander; that they did this with only the protection of 
an unfinished earthwork and a rail fence, retreating only when 
their powder was out. . . . The newspapers of England, instead of 
being exultant, were indignant or apologetic." — Thomas Went- 

WORTH HiGGINSON. 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 

MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BATTLE OF 

BUNKER HILL, 1775, AND THE 

BATTLE OF SARATOGA, 1777 

1775. Washington conducts the siege of Boston. The 
Americans take Montreal. Unsuccessful assaults on 
Quebec. Settlement of Kentucky by Daniel Boone. 

1776. The British evacuate Boston. The British re- 
pulsed at Charleston, S. C. The Continental Congress 
adopts the Declaration of Independence. The British, 
under Howe and Clinton, defeat the Americans, under 
Putnam and Sullivan, in the battle of Long Island. The 
British occupy New York. The Americans defeated at 
White Plains. Washington surprises the Hessians at 
Trenton. 

1777. Washington is victorious at Princeton. Burgoyne 
takes Ticonderoga. The Americans are victorious at 
Bennington. Washington defeated by Howe in the bat- 
tle of the Brandywine. Battle of Stillwater. The Brit- 
ish enter Philadelphia. Repulse of Washington at Ger- 
mantown. Battle of Saratoga. 



VIII 
THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA, 1777. 

IN 1777 the British ministry had planned, in addition to 
the operations of the main army against Philadelphia, 
an invasion from Canada, apprehensions of which had led 
the Americans into their late unsuccessful attempt to con- 
quer that province. Such supplies of men or money as 
they asked for were readily voted; but in England, as 
well as in America, enlistments were a matter of difficulty. 
Lord George Germaine was possessed with an idea, of 
which Sir William Howe found it very difficult to disabuse 
him, that recruits might be largely obtained among the 
American loyalists. In spite, however, of all the efforts 
of Try on, Delancey, and Skinner, the troops of that de- 
scription hardly amounted as yet to twelve hundred men; 
and Howe complained, not without reason, of the tardi- 
ness of the ministers in filling up his army. 

The American Northern Department, again placed under 
the sole command of Schuyler, had been so bare of troops 
during the winter that serious apprehensions had been felt 
lest Ticonderoga might be taken by a sudden movement 
from Canada over the ice. The Northern army was still 
very feeble; and the regiments designed to reinforce it 
filled up so slowly, notwithstanding the offer of large ad- 
ditional bounties, that Massachusetts, Connecticut, and 
New Hampshire were obliged to resort to a kind of con- 
scription, a draft of militia men to serve for twelve months 
as substitutes till the regiments could be filled. In form- 

120 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

ing the first New England army, the enHstment of negro 
slaves had been specially prohibited; but recruits of any 
color were now gladly accepted, and many negroes ob- 
tained their freedom by enlistment. 

The Middle and Southern colonies, whence Washington's 
recruits were principally to come, were still more behind- 
hand. Of the men enlisted in those states, many were 
foreign-born, redemptioners, or indented servants, whose 
attachment to the cause could not fully be relied upon. 
Congress had offered bounties in land to such Germans as 
might desert from the British, and Howe now retorted by 
promising rewards in money to foreigners deserting the 
American service. Congress, as a coimtervailing measure, 
at Washington's earnest request relinquished a plan they 
had adopted of stopping a portion of the pay of the in- 
dented servants in the army as a compensation to. their 
masters for loss of service. That compensation was left 
to be provided for at the public expense, and the enlisted 
servants were all declared freemen. 

Washington was still at Morristown, waiting with no lit- 
tle anxiety the movements of the British. The expected 
reinforcements and supplies, especially tents, the want of 
which had kept Howe from moving, had at last arrived. 
Burgoyne had assumed the command in Canada; but what 
his intentions were Washington did not know — whether 
he would advance by way of Lake Champlain, or, what 
seemed more probable, would take shipping in the St. 
Lawrence and join Howe in New York. Nor could he tell 
whether Howe would move up the Hudson to co-operate 
with Burgoyne, or whether he would attempt Philadelphia; 
and if so, whether by land or water. 

Philadelphia, however, seemed the most probable object 
of attack; and the more effectually to cover that city, 
leaving Putnam in the Highlands with a division of East- 
ern troops, Washington, on May 28th, moved to a piece of 
strong ground at Middlebrook, about twelve miles from 
Princeton. He had with him forty-three battalions, ar- 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ranged in ten brigades and five divisions; but these bat- 
talions were so far from being full that the whole amounted 
to only eight thousand men. 

On Jime 13th Howe marched out of New Brunswick 
with a powerful army, designing apparently to force his 
way to Philadelphia. Washington called to his aid a large 
part of the troops in the Highlands ; the New Jersey militia 
turned out in force; Arnold, to whom had been assigned 
the command at Philadelphia, was busy with Miffiin in 
preparing defences for the Delaware. It was Howe's real 
object, not so much to penetrate to Philadelphia as to draw 
Washington out of his intrenchments and to bring on a 
general engagement, in which, upon anything like equal 
ground, the British general felt certain of victory. With 
that intent he made a sudden and rapid retreat, evacuated 
New Brimswick even, and fell back to Amboy. The bait 
seemed to take; the American van, under Stirling, de- 
scended to the low grounds, and Washington moved with 
the main body to Quibbletown. But when Howe turned 
suddenly about and attempted to gain the passes and 
heights on the American left, Washington, ever on the 
alert, fell rapidly back to the strong ground at Middlebrook. 
In this retrograde movement Stirling's division lost a few 
men and three pieces of artillery; but the American army 
was soon in a position in which Howe did not choose to 
attack it. 

Defeated in this attempt to bring on a general action, 
and having made up his mind to approach Philadelphia 
by water, the British commander, on June 30th, withdrew 
into Staten Island, where he embarked the main body of 
his army, not less than sixteen thousand strong, leaving 
Clinton, who had been lately honored with the Order of 
the Bath, to hold New York with five thousand men, and, 
by expeditions up the Hudson and into New Jersey, to 
co-operate as well with Burgoyne as with the attack upon 
Philadelphia. 

Washington knew from spies, of whom he always had 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

a number in New York, that a fleet of transports was fitting 
out there, but its destination was kept secret. Perhaps 
Howe meant to proceed up the Hudson to co-operate 
with Burgoyne; and the probability of such a movement 
seemed to be increased by the arrival of news that Bur- 
goyne was advancing up Lake Champlain. Perhaps, with 
the same object of aiding Burgoyne, Howe might make an 
attempt upon Boston, thus finding employment at home 
for the New England militia and preventing any rein- 
forcements to Schuyler's army. Under these impressions, 
Washington moved slowly toward the Hudson; but when 
the British fleet went to sea, he retraced his steps toward 
the Delaware; and news arriving that the ships had been 
seen off Cape May, he advanced to Germantown. Instead 
of entering the Delaware, the British fleet was presently 
seen steering to the eastward, and all calculations were 
thus again baffled. It was thought that Howe was re- 
turning to New York or had sailed for New England, and 
the army was kept ready to march at a moment's notice. 
Washington, in the interval, proceeded to Philadelphia and 
there had an interview with Congress. 

The force in Canada at Burgoyne's disposal had been a 
good deal underrated by Washington and by Congress; 
nor could they be induced to believe that anything was 
intended in that quarter beyond a feigned attack upon 
Ticonderoga, in order to distract attention from Phila- 
delphia. Hence the less pains had been taken to fill up 
the ranks of the Northern army, which, indeed, was much 
weaker than Congress had supposed. At least ten thou- 
sand men were necessary for the defence of Ticonderoga 
alone; but St. Clair, who commanded there, had only 
three thousand, very insufficiently armed and equipped- 
The posts in the rear were equally weak. 

It was a part of Burgoyne's plan not merely to take 
Ticonderoga, but to advance thence upon Albany, and, 
with the co-operation of the troops at New York, to get 

123 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

possession also of the posts in the Highlands.. The Brit- 
ish would then command the Hudson through its whole 
extent, and New England, the head of the rebellion, would 
be completely cut off from the Middle and Southern 
colonies. 

Burgoyne started on this expedition with a brilliant 
army of eight thousand men, partly .British and partly 
Germans, besides a large number of Canadian boatmen, 
laborers, and skirmishers. On the western shore of Lake 
Champlain, near Crown Point, he met the Six Nations in 
council, and, after a feast and a speech, some four hun- 
dred of their warriors joined his army. His next step, on 
June 29th, was to issue a proclamation, in a very grandilo- 
quent style, setting forth his own and the British power, 
painting in vivid colors the rage and fury of the Indians, 
so difficult to be restrained, and threatening with all the 
extremities of war all who .hould presume to resist his 
arms. 

Two days after the issue of this proclamation, Bur- 
goyne appeared before Ticonderoga. He occupied a steep 
hill which overlooked the fort, and which the Americans 
had neglected because they thought it inaccessible to 
artillery. Preparations for attack were rapidly making, 
and St. Clair saw there was no chance for his troops ex- 
cept in instant retreat. The baggage and stores, placed 
in bateaux, under convoy of five armed galleys, the last 
remains of the American flotilla, were despatched, on 
July 6th, up the narrow southern extremity of the lake 
to Skenesborough, now Whitehall, toward which point the 
troops retired by land, in a southeasterly direction, through 
the New Hampshire Grants. 

While General Eraser pursued the retreating troops, 
followed by General Riedesel with a corps of Germans, 
Burgoyne forced the obstructions opposite Ticonderoga, 
and, embarking several regiments, he speedily overtook 
the American stores and baggage, all of which fell into 
his hands. 

124 




BURGOYNE S ROUTE 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The garrison of Skenesborough, informed of Burgoyne's 
approach, set fire to the works and retreated up Wood 
Creek to Fort Anne, a post about half-way to the Hudson. 
They had a sharp skirmish with a British regiment which 
followed them; but, other troops coming up, they set fire 
to the buildings at Fort Anne and retired to Fort Edward. 

The van of St. Clair's troops, at the end of their first 
day's march, had reached Castleton, a distance of thirty 
miles from Ticonderoga; but the rear, which included 
many stragglers, and amounted to twelve hundred men, 
contrary to St. Clair's express orders, stopped short at 
Hubberton, six miles behind, where they were overtaken 
on the morning of July yth and attacked by Eraser. One 
of the regiments fled disgracefully, leaving most of their 
officers to be taken prisoners. The two other regiments, 
under Francis and Warner, made a stout resistance, but 
when Riedesel came up with his Germans they too gave 
way. Francis was killed, and many with him; some two 
hundred were taken prisoners. Those who escaped, though 
dispersed for the moment, reached St. Clair in detached 
parties. Warner, with some ninety men, came up two 
days after the battle. This was at Rutland, to which place 
St. Clair, having heard of the fall of Skenesborough had 
continued his retreat. For some time his whereabouts 
was unknown, but, after a seven days' march, he joined 
Schuyler at Fort Edward, on the Hudson. Here was 
assembled the whole force of the Northern army, amoimt- 
ing to about five thousand men; but a considerable part 
were militia hastily called in, many were without arms, 
there was a great deficiency of ammunition and provisions, 
and the whole force was quite disorganized. 

The region between Skenesborough and the Hudson was 
an almost unbroken wilderness. Wood Creek was navi- 
gable as far as Fort Anne ; from Fort Anne to the Hudson, 
over an exceedingly rough country, covered with thick 
woods and intersected by numerous streams and morasses, 
extended a single military road. While Burgoyne halted 

126 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

a few days at Skenesborough to put his forces in order 
and to bring up the necessary supplies, Schuyler hastened 
to destroy the navigation of Wood Creek by sinking im- 
pediments in its channel, and to break up the bridges and 
causeways, of which there were fifty or more on the road 
from Fort Anne to Fort Edward. At all those points 
where the construction of a side passage would be difficult 
he ordered trees to be felled across the road with their 
branches interlocking. All the stock in the neighborhood 
was driven off, and the militia of New England was sum- 
moned to the rescue. 

The loss of Ticonderoga, with its numerous artillery, and 
the subsequent rapid disasters came like a thunderbolt on 
Congress and the Northern States. "We shall never be 
able to defend a post," wrote John Adams, President of 
the Board of War, in a private letter, "till we shoot a 
general." Disasters, the unavoidable result of weakness, 
were ascribed to the incapacity or cowardice of the officers. 
Suggestions of treachery even were whispered, and the 
prejudices of the New- Engl anders against Schuyler broke 
out with new violence. In the anger and vexation of the 
moment, all the Northern generals were recalled, and an 
inquiry was ordered into their conduct; but the execution 
of this order was suspended on the representation of 
Washington that the Northern army could not be left 
without officers. Washington shared the general surprise 
and vexation, but he had confidence in Schuyler, and he 
did all in his power, to reinforce the Northern army. Two 
brigades from the Highlands, Morgan with his rifle corps, 
the impetuous Arnold, and Lincoln, a great favorite with 
the Massachusetts militia, were ordered to the Northern 
Department. Washington declined the selection of a new 
commander tendered to him by Congress, and that selection, 
guided by the New England members, fell upon Gates. 

Burgoyne meanwhile issued a new proclamation for a 
convention of ten deputies from each township, to assem- 
ble at Castleton, to confer with Governor Skene, and to 
9 127 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

take measures for the re-establishment of the royal au- 
thority. Schuyler, in a counter-proclamation, threatened 
the utmost rigor of the law of treason against all who com- 
plied with Burgoyne's propositions. Subsequently to the 
Declaration of Independence, the inhabitants of Vermont 
had organized themselves into an independent state, had 
applied to Congress for admission into the Union, and had 
adopted a constitution. A Continental regiment had been 
raised and officered in Vermont, of which Warner had been 
commissioned as colonel. But Congress, through the in- 
fluence of New York, disclaimed any intention to counte- 
nance the pretensions of Vermont to independence; and 
the Vermont petition for admission into the Union had 
been lately dismissed with some asperity. If Burgoyne, 
however, founded any hopes of defection upon this cir- 
cumstance, he found himself quite mistaken. 

The advance from Skenesborough cost the British in- 
finite labor and fatigue; but, beyond breaking up the 
roads and placing obstacles in their way, Schuyler was 
not strong enough to annoy them. These impediments 
were at length overcome; and Burgoyne, with his troops, 
artillery, and baggage, presently appeared on the banks 
of the Hudson. The British army hailed with enthusiasm 
the sight of that river, object of their toil, which they 
had reached on July 29th with great efforts indeed, but 
with an uninterrupted career of success and a loss of not 
above two hundred men. 

It now only remained for the British to force their way 
to Albany; nor did it seem likely that Schuyler could 
offer any serious resistance. His army, not yet materially 
increased, was principally composed of militia without disci- 
pline, the troops from the eastward being very little inclined 
to serve under his orders and constantly deserting. Fort 
Edward was untenable. As the British approached, the 
Americans crossed the river, and retired, first to Saratoga, 
and then to Stillwater, a short distance above the mouth 
of the Mohawk. 

128 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

Hardly had Schuyler taken up this position when news 
arrived of another disaster and a new danger. While 
moving up Lake Champlain, Burgoyne had detached 
Colonel St. Leger, with two hundred regulars, Sir John 
Johnson's Royal Greens, some Canadian Rangers, and a 
body of Indians under Brant, to harass the New York 
frontier from the west. On August 3d St. Leger laid siege 
to Fort Schuyler, late Fort Stanwix, near the head of the 
Mohawk, then the extreme western post of the State of 
New York. General Herkimer raised tlie militia of Tryon 
County, and advanced to the relief of this important post, 
which was held by Gansevoort and Willett, with two New 
York regiments. About six miles from the fort, owing to 
want of proper precaution, Herkimer, on August 6th, fell 
into an ambush. Mortally wounded, he supported him- 
self against a stump and encouraged his men to the fight. 
By the aid of a successful sally by Willett, they succeeded 
at last in repulsing the assailants, but not without a loss 
of four hundred, including many of the leading patriots of 
that region, who met with no mercy at the hands of the 
Indians and refugees. 

Tryon County, which included the whole district west 
of Albany, abounded with Tories. It was absolutely neces- 
sary to relieve Fort Schuyler, lest its surrender should be 
the signal for a general insurrection. Arnold volunteered 
for that service, and was despatched by Schuyler with 
three regiments; with the rest of his army he withdrew 
into the islands at the confluence of the Mohawk and the 
Hudson, a more defensible station than the camp at Still- 
water. 

The command of Lake George, as well as of Lake Cham- 
plain, had passed into the hands of the British. That lake 
furnished a convenient means of transportation; a large 
quantity of provisions and stores for the British army had 
arrived at Fort George, and Burgoyne was exerting every 
effort for their transportation to his camp on the Hudson. 
The land carriage was only eighteen miles, but the roads 

1P9 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

were so bad and the supply of draught cattle so small that, 
after a fortnight's hard labor, the British army had only 
four days' provisions in advance. 

"To try the affections of the country, to mount Rie- 
- desel's Dragoons, to complete Peter's Corps of Loyalists, 
and to obtain a large supply of cattle, horses, and car- 
riages," so Burgoyne expressed himself in his instructions, 
it was resolved to send a strong detachment into the set- 
tlements on the left. Colonel Baum was sent on this 
errand, with two pieces of artillery and eight hundred 
men, dismounted German dragoons and British marks- 
men, with a body o Canadians and Indians, and Skene 
and a party of Loyalists for guides. 

Langdon, the principal merchant at Portsmouth, and 
a member of the New Hampshire council, having pa- 
triotically volunteered the means to put them in motion, 
a corps of New Hampshire militia, called out upon news 
of the loss of Ticonderoga, had lately arrived at Ben- 
nington under the command of Stark. Disgusted at not 
having been made a brigadier. Stark had resigned his 
Continental commission as colonel, and, in agreeing to 
take the leadership of the militia, had expressly stipulated 
for an independent command. On that ground he had 
just declined to obey an order from Lincoln to join the 
main army — -a piece of insubordination which might have 
proved fatal, but which, in the present case, turned out 
otherwise. Informed of Baum's approach. Stark sent off 
expresses for militia and for Warner's regiment, encamped 
at Manchester, and joined by many fugitives since the 
battle of Hubberton. Six miles from Bennington, on the 
appearance of Stark's forces (August 14th), Baum began to 
intrench himself, and sent back to Burgoyne for reinforce- 
ments. ■ The next day was rainy, and Stark, also expect- 
ing reinforcements, delayed the attack. Baum improved 
the interval in throwing up intrenchments. Breyman 
marched to his assistance, but was delayed by the rain and 
the badness of the roads, which also kept back Warner's 

13Q 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

regiment. Having been joined on August i6th by some 
Berkshire militia tmder Colonel Simmons, Stark drew out 
his forces, and about noon approached the enemy. "There 
they are!" exclaimed the rustic general — "we beat to-day, 
or Molly Stark's a widow!" The assault was made in 
four columns, in front and rear at the same time, and after 
a hot action of two hours the intrenchments were carried. 
The Indians and provincials escaped to the woods; the 
Germans were mostly taken or slain. The battle was 
hardly over, and Stark's men were in a good deal of con- 
fusion, when, about four in the afternoon, Breyman was 
seen coming up. Warner's regiment luckily arrived at 
the same time. The battle was renewed and kept up till 
dark, when Breyman abandoned his baggage and artillery, 
and made the best retreat he could. Besides the killed, 
about two hundred in number, the Americans took near 
six hundred prisoners, a thousand stand of arms, as many 
swords, and four pieces of artillery — a seasonable supply 
for the militia now flocking in from all quarters. The 
American loss was only fourteen killed and forty-two 
wounded. 

Just at the moment when a turn in the affairs of the 
Northern Department became fully apparent, the two bri- 
gades from the Highlands having arrived, and the militia 
fast pouring in, Schuyler, much to his mortification, was 
superseded by Gates on August 2 2d. He still remained, 
however, at Albany, and gave his assistance toward carry- 
ing on the campaign. The day after Gates assumed the 
command, Morgan arrived with his rifle corps, five hundred 
strong, to which were presently added two hundred and 
fifty picked men under Major Dearborn, of Scammell's 
New Hampshire regiment. 

The victory of Stark had a magical effect in reviving the 
spirits of the people and the courage of the soldiers. In- 
dignation was also aroused by the cruelties reported of 
Burgoyne's Indian allies. A most pathetic story was 
told of one Jenny McRea, murdered by Indians near Fort 

131 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Edward. Her family were Loyalists; she herself was 
engaged to be married to a Loyalist officer. She was 
dressed to receive her lover, when a party of Indians burst 
into the house, carried off the whole family to the woods, 
and there murdered, scalped, and mangled them in the 
most horrible manner. Such, at least, was the story as 
told in a letter of remonstrance from Gates to Burgoyne. 
Burgoyne, in his reply, gave, however, a different account. 
According to his version, the murder was committed by 
two Indians sent by the young lady's lover to conduct her 
for safety to the British camp. They quarrelled on the 
way respecting the division of the promised reward, and 
settled the dispute by killing the girl. Even this correc- 
tion hardly lessened the effect of the story or diminished 
the detestation so naturally felt at the employment of such 
barbarous allies. 

The artful Arnold, while on his march for the relief of 
Fort Schuyler, had sent into St. Leger's camp a very 
exaggerated account of his numbers. The Indians, who 
had suffered severely in the battle with Herkimer, and 
who had glutted their vengeance by the murder of pris- 
oners, seized with a sudden panic, deserted in large num- 
bers. On August 2 2d, two days before Arnold's arrival, 
St. Leger himself precipitately retired, leaving his tents 
standing and the greater part of his stores and baggage 
to fall into Arnold's hands. On returning to Gates' camp, 
Arnold received the command of the left wing. 

These checks were not without their effect on the Six 
Nations. Burgoyne's Indians began to desert him — an 
example which the Canadians soon followed. The Onon- 
dagas and some of the Mohawks joined the Americans. 
Through the influence of the missionary Kirkland, the 
Oneidas had all along been favorably disposed. It was 
only the more western clans, the Cayugas, Tuscaroras, 
and Senecas, which adhered firmly during the war to the 
British side. 

The American army being now about six thousand 

132 



. THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

strong, besides detached parties of militia under General 
Lincoln, which hung upon the British rear, Gates left his 
island camp, and presently occupied Behmus' Heights, 
a spur from the hills on the west side of the Hudson, jut- 
ting close upon the river. By untiring efforts, Burgoyne 
had brought forward thirty days' provisions, and, having 
thrown a bridge of boats over the Hudson, he crossed to 
Saratoga. With advanced parties in front to repair the 
roads and bridges, his army slowly descended the Hud- 
son — the Germans on the left, by a road close along the 
river; the British, covered by light infantry, provincials, 
and Indians, by the high ground on the right. 

Gates' camp on the brow of Behmus' ^ Heights formed 
a segment of a circle, convex toward the enemy. A deep 
intrenchment extended to the river on the right, covered 
not only by strong batteries, but by an abrupt and thickly 
wooded ravine descending to whe river. From the head 
of this ravine, toward the left, the ground was level and 
partially cleared, some trees being felled and others girdled. 
The defences here consisted of a breastwork of logs. On 
the extreme left, a distance of three quarters of a mile from 
the river, was a knoll, a little in the rear, crowned by 
strong batteries, and there was another battery to the left 
of the centre. Between the two armies were two more 
deep ravines, both wooded. An alarm being given about 
noon of September 19th that the enemy was approaching 
the left of the encampment, Morgan was sent forward with 
his riflemen. Having forced a picket, his men, in the 
ardor of pursuit, fell unexpectedly upon a strong British 
column, and were thrown into temporary confusion. 
Cilley's and Scammell's New Hampshire regiments were 
ordered out to reinforce him. Hale's regiment of New 
Hampshire, Van Courtlandt's and Henry Livingston's of 
New York, and two regiments of Connecticut militia were 
successively led to the field, with orders to extend to the 
left and support the points where they perceived the 
^ Later Bemis. 
^33 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

greatest pressure. About three o'clock the action became 
general, and till nightfall the fire of musketry was inces- 
sant. The British had four field-pieces; the ground oc- 
cupied by the Americans, a thick wood on the borders of 
an open field, did not admit the use of artillery. On the 
opposite side of this field, on a rising ground, in a thin 
pine wood, the British troops were drawn up. Whenever 
they advanced into the open field, the fire of the American 
marksmen drove them back in disorder; but when the 
Americans followed into the open ground the British 
would rally, charge, and force them to fall back. The 
field was thus lost and won a dozen times in the course of 
the day. At every charge the British artillery fell into 
possession of the Americans, but the ground would not 
allow them to carry off the pieces, nor could they be kept 
long enough to be turned on the enemy. Late in the 
afternoon, the British left being reinforced from the Ger- 
man column, General Learned was ordered out with four 
regiments of Massachusetts and another of New York. 
Something decisive might now have occurred, but the 
approach of night broke off the contest, and the Americans 
withdrew to their camp, leaving the field in possession of 
the British. They encamped upon it, and claimed the 
victory; but, if not a drawn battle, it was one of those 
victories equivalent to a defeat. The British loss was up- 
ward of five hundred, the American less than three hun- 
dred. . To have held their ground in the circumstances in 
which the armies stood was justly esteemed by the Ameri- 
cans a decided triumph. 

, In anticipation of an action. Gates had ordered the 
detached corps to join him. Stark, with the victors of 
Bennington, had arrived in camp the day before. Their 
term of service, however, expired that day; and satisfied 
with laurels already won, in spite of all attempts to de- 
tain them, they marched off the very morning of the bat- 
tle. In consideration of his courage and good conduct at 
Bennington, Congress overlooked the insubordination of 

134 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

Stark, which, in a resolution just before, they had pointedly 
condemned, and he was presently elected a brigadier. 
Howe and McDougall about the same time were chosen 
major-generals. 

Before receiving Gates' orders to join the main body, a 
party of Lincoln's militia, led by Colonel Brown, had 
surprised the posts at the outlet of Lake George on Sep- 
tember 17th, and had taken three hundred prisoners, also 
several armed vessels and a fleet of bateaux employed in 
transporting provisions up the lake. Uniting with an- 
other party under Colonel Johnson, they approached Ticon- 
deroga and beleaguered it for four days. Burgoyne's 
communications thus entirely cut off, his situation became 
very alarming, and he began to intrench. His difficulties in- 
creased every moment. Provisions were diminishing, forage . 
was exhausted, the horses were perishing. To retreat with 
the enemy in his rear was as difficult as to advance. 

A change of circumstances not less remarkable had 
taken place in the American camp. Gates' army was in- 
creasing every day. The battle of Behmus' Heights was 
sounded through the country as a great victory, and, the 
harvest being now over, the militia marched in from all 
sides to complete the overthrow of the invaders. Lincoln, 
with the greater part of his militia, having joined the army 
on September 2 2d, he received the command of the right 
wing. Arnold, on some quarrel or jealousy on the part 
of Gates, had been deprived, since the late battle, of his 
command of the left wing, which Gates asstimed in person. 
Gates was neither more able nor more trustworthy than 
Schuyler; but the soldiers believed him so, and zeal, 
alacrity, and obedience had succeeded to doubts, distrust, 
and insubordination. Yet Gates was not without his diffi- 
culties. The supply of ammunition was very short, and 
the late change in the commissariat department, taking 
place in the midst of the campaign, made the feeding of 
the troops a matter of no little anxiety. 

There was still one hope for Burgoyne. A letter in 

135 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

cipher, brought by a trusty messenger from Clinton, at 
New York, informed him of an intended diversion up the 
Hudson; and, could he maintain his present position, he 
might yet be relieved. But his troops, on short allowance 
of provisions, were already suffering severely, and it was 
necessary either to retreat or to find relief, in another 
battle. To make a reconnaissance of the American lines, 
he drew out fifteen himdred picked men on October 7th 




BEHMUS OR BEMIS HEIGHTS 

Disposition of troops. October 7th 



and formed them less than a mile from the American 
camp. The two camps, indeed, were hardly cannon-shot 
apart. As soon as Burgoyne's position was discovered 
his left was furiously assailed by Poor's New Hampshire 
brigade. The attack extended rapidly to the right, where 

136 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

Morgan's riflemen manoeuvred to cut off the British from 
their camp. Gates did not appear on the field any more 
than in the former battle ; but Arnold, though without any 
regular command, took, as usual, a leading part. He 
seemed under the impulse of some extraordinary excite- 
ment, riding at full speed, issuing orders, and cheering on 
the men. To avoid being cut off from the camp, the 
British right was already retreating, when the left, pressed 
and overwhelmed by superior numbers, began to give way. 
The gallant Eraser was mortally wounded, picked off by 
the American marksmen; six pieces of artillery were 
abandoned; and only by the greatest efforts did the Brit- 
ish troops regain their camp. The Americans followed 
close upon them, and, through a shower of grape and 
musketry, assaulted the right of the British works. Arnold 
forced an entrance; but he was wounded, his horse was 
shot imder him as he rode into one of the sally-ports, and 
his colimm was driven back. Colonel Brooks, at the head 
of Jackson's regiment of Massachusetts, was more success- 
ful. He turned the intrenchments of a German brigade, 
forced them from the ground at the point of the bayonet, 
captured their camp equipage and artillery, and, what was 
of still more mportance, and a great relief to the American 
army, an ample supply of ammimition. The repeated 
attempts of the British to dislodge him all failed, and he 
remained at night in possession of the works. Darkness 
at length put an end to the fighting; but the Americans 
slept on their arms, prepared to renew it the next morning. 
The advantages they had gained were decisive. The 
British had lost four hundred men in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners; artillery, ammunition, and tents had been capt- 
ured; and the possession of a part of the works by the 
Americans would enable them to renew the attack the 
next day with every change of success. For the safety 
of the British army a change of position was indispensable ; 
and, while the Americans slept, the British general, with 
skill and intrepidity, order and silence, drew back his dis- 

137 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

comfited troops to some high grounds in the rear, where 
the British army appeared the next morning (October 8th) 
drawn up in order of battle. That day was spent in skir- 
mishes. While attempting to reconnoitre, General Lin- 
coln was severely wounded and disabled from further ser- 
vice. Eraser was buried on a hill he had designated, amid 
showers of balls from the American lines. The Baroness 
de Riedesel, who followed the camp with her yoimg chil- 
dren, and whose quarters were turned into a sort of hos- 
pital for the woimded officers, has left a pathetic account 
of the horrors of that day and of the retreat that followed. 

To avoid being surrounded, Burgoyne was obliged to aban- 
don his new position, and, with the loss of his hospitals 
and numerous sick and wounded, to fall back to Sara- 
toga on October 9th. The distance was only six miles; 
but the rain fell in torrents, the roads were almost impas- 
sable, the bridge over the Fishkill had been broken down by 
the Americans, and this retrograde movement consumed 
an entire day. The same obstacles prevented, however, 
any serious annoyance from the American troops. During 
this retreat, the better to cover the movements of the 
army, General Schuyler's house at Saratoga and exten- 
sive saw-mills were set on fire and destroyed. A body 
of artificers, sent forward under a strong escort to repair 
the bridge toward Fort Edward, foimd that road and the 
ford across the Hudson already occupied by the Ameri- 
cans. The fleet of bateaux, loaded with the British sup- 
plies and provisions, was assailed from the left bank of 
the river, and many of the boats were taken. The lading 
of the others was only saved by a most laborious and diffi- 
cult transportation, under a sharp American fire, up the 
steep river -bank to the heights occupied by the British 
army. Even the camp itself was not safe; grape and 
rifle balls fell in the midst of it. 

Burgoyne 's situation was truly deplorable. He had 
heard nothing further from New York, and his effective 
force was now reduced to four thousand men, surroimded 

138 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

by an enemy three times as numerous, flushed with suc- 
cess, and rapidly increasing. All the fords and passes 
toward Lake George were occupied and covered by in- 
trenchments, and, even should the baggage and artillery 
be abandoned, there was no hope of forcing a passage. 
An account of the provisions on hand (October 13th) 
showed only three days' supply. The troops, exhausted 
with hunger and fatigue, and conscious of their hopeless 
situation, could not be depended on, especially should the 
camp be attacked. A council of war, to which not field 
officers only, but all the captains commandant were sum- 
moned, advised to open a treaty of capitulation. 

Gates demanded, at first, an unconditional surrender; 
but to that Burgoyne would not submit. The American 
commander was the less precise about terms, and very 
eager to hasten matters, lest he too might be attacked in the 
rear. He knew, though Burgoyne did not, that the in- 
tended diversion from New York, delayed for some time 
to await the arrival of forces from Europe, had at length 
been successfully made, and that all the American posts 
in the Highlands had fallen into the hands of the British. 
Should Burgoyne continue to hold out, this new enemy 
might even make a push on Albany. 

The main defences of the Highlands, Forts Clinton and 
Montgomery, on the west bank of the Hudson, separated 
from each other by a small stream, and too high to be bat- 
tered from the water, were surroimded by steep and rugged 
hills which made the approach to them on the land side 
very difficult. To stop the ascent of the enemy's ships, 
frames of timber, with projecting beams shod with iron, 
had been sunk in the channel. A boom, formed of great 
trees fastened together, extended from bank to bank, 
and in front of this boom was stretched a huge iron chain. 
Above these impediments several armed vessels were 
moored. On an island a few miles higher up, and near 
the eastern bank of the river, was Fort Constitution, with 
another boom and chain. Near the entrance of the High- 

139 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

lands, and below the other posts, Fort Independence 
occupied a high point of land on the east bank of the river. 
It was at Peekskill, just below Fort Independence, that the 
commanding officer in the Highlands usually had his 
headquarters. The two brigades sent to the Northern 
army, and other detachments which Washington had him- 
self been obliged to draw from the Highlands, had so 
weakened the regular garrison that Washington became 
much alarmed for the safety of that important post. The 
remainder of the New York militia, not under arms in the 
Northern Department, had been called out by Governor 
Clinton to supply the place of the detached regulars; 
other militia had been sent from Connecticut; but, as no 
signs of immediate attack appeared, and as the harvest 
demanded their services at home, Putnam allowed most of 
them to return. Half the New York militia were ordered 
back again by Clinton, but before they had mustered the 
posts were lost. Putnam was at Peekskill with the main 
body of the garrison, which amounted in the whole to not 
more than two thousand men. While a party of the 
enemy amused him with the idea that Fort Independence 
was their object, a stronger party landed lower down, on 
the other side of the river, and, pushing inland through 
the defiles of the Highlands, approached Forts Clinton and 
Montgomery, of which the entire garrison did not exceed 
six hundred men. Before assistance could be sent by 
Putnam — indeed, before he knew of the attack — the forts, 
much too extensive to be defended by so small a force, 
were both taken on October 5th. Governor Clinton, who 
commanded, his brother, General James Clinton, and a 
part of the garrison availed themselves of the knowledge of 
the ground and escaped across the river, but the Americans 
suffered a loss of two hundred and fifty in killed and pris- 
oners. Fort Constitution was immediately evacuated by 
the few troops that held it, and two new Continental 
frigates, with some other vessels, were set on fire to pre- 
vent their falling into the hands of the enemy. Even 

140 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

Peekskill and Fort Independence were abandoned, the 
stores being conveyed to Fishkill, whither Putnam retired 
with his forces. The booms and chains were removed, 
so that ships could pass up; and a British detachment 
under Tryon burned Continental Village, a new settlement 
on the east side of the river, where many public stores 
were deposited. 







141 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Informed of these movements, and very anxious to 
have Burgoyne's army out of the way, Gates agreed, on 
October i6th, that the British troops should march out 
of their camp with the honors of war, should lay down 
their arms, and be conducted to Boston, there to embark 
for England, under an engagement not to serve against 
the United States till exchanged. Having heard from a 
deserter of the advance of Clinton, Burgoyne hesitated to 
ratify the treaty; but, on consideration and consultation 
with his officers, he did not choose to rtm the risk o break- 
ing it. The prisoners included in this capitulation were five 
thousand six hundred and forty-two; the previous losses 
of the army amounted to near four thousand more. The 
arms, artillery, baggage, and camp equipage became the 
property of the captors. The German regiments con- 
trived to save their colors by cutting them from the 
staves, rolling them up, and packing them away with 
Madame de Riedesel's baggage. 

As soon as the garrison of Ticonderoga heard of the 
surrender, they hastily destroyed what they could and 
retired to Canada. Putnam no sooner heard of it than 
he sent pressing despatches for assistance. The British 
had proceeded as high up as Esopus, which they burned 
about the very time that Burgoyne was capitulating. 
Putnam had been already joined by some three thousand 
militia, to which a large detachment from Gates' army 
was soon added. As it was now too late to succor Bur- 
goyne, having dismantled the forts in the Highlands, the 
British returned to New York, carrying with them sixty- 
seven pieces of heavy artillery and a large quantity of 
provisions and ammunition. Before their departure they 
burned every house within their reach — a piece of malice 
ascribed to Try on and his Tories. 

The capture of a whole British army,^ lately the object 

* " The surrender of Burgoyne turned the scale in favor of the 
Americans so far as the judgment of Europe was concerned. . . . 
The first treaty with France — which was also the first treaty of 

142 



THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA 

of so much terror, produced, especially in New England, 
an exultation proportionate to the recent alarm. The 
military reputation of Gates, elevated to a very high 
pitch, rivalled even the fame of Washington, dimmed as 
it was by the loss of Philadelphia, which, meanwhile, had 
fallen into the enemy's hands. The youthful Wilkinson, 
who had acted during the campaign as deputy adjutant- 
general of the American army, and whose Memoirs con- 
tain the best account of its movements, being sent to Con- 
gress with news of the surrender, was henceforth honored 
with a brevet commission as brigadier - general ; which, 
however, he speedily resigned when he fotmd a remon- 
strance against this irregular advancement sent to Con- 
gress by forty-seven colonels of the line. The investigation 
into Schuyler's conduct resulted, a year afterward, in his 
acquittal with the highest honor. He insisted, however, 
on resigning his commission, though strongly urged by 
Congress to retain it. But he did not relinquish the ser- 
vice of his coimtry, in which he continued as active as 
ever, being presently chosen a member of Congress. 



SYNOPSIS OF .THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 

MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BATTLE OF 

SARATOGA, 1777, AND THE BATTLE OF 

YORKTOWN, 1 78 1 

1777. Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation. 
Stars and Stripes adopted. British evacuate New York. 
British occupy Philadelphia. American winter-quarters at 
Valley Forge, in December. 

1778. France recognizes the independence of the United 
States. The British evacuate Philadelphia. • The battle of 

the United States with any foreign government — was signed Feb, 
ruary 6, 1778, two months after the news of Burgoyne's surrender 
had reached Paris." — Higginson's History of the United States. 

143 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Monmouth. France declares war against England. The 
Wyoming Valley Massacre. Battle of Rhode Island. The 
British enter Savannah. General George Rogers Clark 
conquers the " Old Northwest." 

. 1779. Storming of Stony Point by the Americans. 
Paul Jones, in the Bon Homme Richard, is victorious over 
the British frigate Serapis. The British win the engage- 
ment of Brier Creek. Spain declares war against Great 
Britain. Congress guaranties the Floridas to Spain if she 
takes them from Great Britain, provided the United 
States should have free navigation on the Mississippi. 

1780. Lincoln surrenders to Clinton at Charleston. 
Defeat of Gates by Comwallis in the first battle of Cam- 
den. Treason of Benedict Arnold. Capture and execu- 
tion of Andre. The British are defeated at King's Moun- 
tain. 

1 78 1. American victory at Cowpens. The ratification 
of the Articles of Confederation by the several states com- 
pleted. Greene is defeated by Cornwallis at Guilford 
Court-House. The British are victorious at Hobkirk's 
Hill (second battle of Camden). New London burned by 
Arnold. Battle of Eutaw Springs. Washington and 
Rochambeau, aided uy the French fleet under Count de 
Grasse, besiege Comwallis in Yorktown. Surrender of 
Comwallis. 



IX 

YORKTOWN AND THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 

(1781) 

The year 1781 opened with small promise of a speedy ending of 
the American struggle for independence. New York remained in 
the hands of the English. Cornwallis was confident of success in 
the South. But Greene's brilliant campaigning and Lafayette's 
strategy left Cornwallis with a wearied army devoid of any fruits 
of victory, and, finally returning to the seaboard, he settled him- 
self at Yorktown. Washington, before New York, had watched 
the Southern campaigns closely. Word came from the Count de 
Grasse that the French fleet under his command was ready to 
leave the West Indies and join in operations in Virginia. Wash- 
ington at once planned a new campaign, destined to prove of 
peculiar brilliancy. He was joined by Rochambeau's French 
army from Newport. Clinton, the British commander in New 
York, was tricked into believing that the city was to be closely 
besieged. But the American and French armies, six thousand 
strong, passed by New York in a race through Princeton and 
Philadelphia to Chesapeake Bay, which they reached on Septem- 
ber 5th, the day that De Grasse entered with his fleet to join the 
other French fleet which had been set free from Newport. De 
Grasse maintained his command of Chesapeake Bay in spite of 
the futile attack of Admiral Graves and the British fleet. If 
Rodney, who had sailed for England, had been in Graves' place 
the outcome might have been different. A defeat of De Grasse 
would have meant British control of the water and a support for 
Cornwallis, which would have saved his army and ruined Wash- 
ington's plans. Yorktown affords one of the striking illustrations 
in Captain Mahan's Influence of Sea Power upon History. — Editor. 



THE allied American and French armies joined La- 
fayette at Williamsburg, Virginia, September 25, 1781, 
and on the 27th there was a besieging army there of six- 

145 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

teen thousand men, under the chief command of Wash- 
ington, assisted by Rochambeau. The British force, 
about half as numerous, were mostly behind intrenchments 
at Yorktown. On the arrival of Washington and Rocham- 
beau at Williamsburg, they proceeded to the Ville de Paris, 
De Grasse's flag-ship, to congratulate the admiral on his 
victory over the British admiral Graves on the 5th, which 




SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 

had prevented British relief of Yorktown by sea, and to 
make specific arrangements for the future. Preparations 
for the siege were immediately begun. The allied armies 
marched from Williamsburg (September 28th), driving in 
the British outposts as they approached Yorktown, and 
taking possession of abandoned works. The allies formed 
a semicircular line about two miles from the British in- 
trenchments, each wing resting on the York River, and on 
the 30th the place was completely invested. The British 
at Gloucester, opposite, were imprisoned by French dra- 
goons under the Duke de Lauzun, Virginia militia, led 
by General Weedon, and eight hundred French marines. 
Only once did the imprisoned troops . attempt to escape 
from that point. Tarleton's legion sallied out, but were 
soon driven back by De Lauztm's cavalry, who made 
Tarleton's horse a prisoner and came near capturing his 
owner. 

In the besieging lines before Yorktown the French troops 
occupied the left, the West India troops of St. Simon being 
on the extreme flank. The Americans were on the right; 
and the French artillery, with the quarters of the two com- 
manders, occupied the centre. The American artillery, 
commanded by General Knox, was with the right. The 
fleet of De Grasse was in Lynn Haven Bay to beat off any 
vessels that might attempt to relieve Cornwallis. On the 
night of October 6th heavy ordnance was brought up from 
the French ships, and trenches were begun at six hundred 
yards from the British works. The first parallel was com- 
pleted before the morning of the 7th, under the direction 
of General Lincoln; and on the afternoon of the 9th sev- 
eral batteries and redoubts were finished, and a general 
discharge of heavy guns was opened by the Americans on 
the right. Early on the morning of the loth the French 
opened several batteries on the left. That evening the 
same troops hurled red-hot balls upon British vessels in 
the river, which caused the destruction by fire of several 
of them — one a forty- four-gun ship. 

M7 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The allies began the second parallel on the night of the 
nth, which the British did not discover until daylight 
came, when they brought several heavy guns to bear upon 
the diggers. On the 14th it was determined to storm two 
of the redoubts which were most annoying, as they com- 
manded the trenches. One on the right, near the York 
River, was garrisoned by forty-five men; the other, on 
the left, was manned by about one hundred and twenty 
men. The capture of the former was intrusted to Ameri- 
cans led by Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hamilton, and 
that of the latter to French grenadiers led by Count Deux- 
ponts. At a given signal Hamilton advanced in two col- 
umns — one led by Major Fish, the other by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gimat, Lafayette's aide, while Lieutenant-Colonel 
John Laurens, with eighty men, proceeded to turn the re- 
doubt to intercept a retreat of the garrison. So agile 
and furious was the assault that the redoubt was carried 
in a few minutes, with little loss on either side. Laurens 
was among the first to enter the redoubt and make the 
commander, Major Campbell, a prisoner. The life of every 
man who ceased to resist was spared. 

Meanwhile the French, after a severe struggle, in which 
they lost about one hundred men in killed and woimded, 
captured the other redoubt. Washington, with Knox and 
some others, had watched the movements with intense 
anxiety, and when the commander-in-chief saw both re- 
doubts in possession of his troops he turned and said to 
Knox, "The work is done, and well done." That night 
both redoubts were included in the second parallel. The 
situation of Cornwallis was now critical. He was sur- 
rounded by a superior force, his works were crumbling, and 
he saw that when the second parallel of the besiegers should 
be completed and the cannon on their batteries moimted 
his post at Yorktown would become untenable, and he 
resolved to attempt an escape by abandoning the place, 
his baggage, and his sick, cross the York River, disperse 
the allies who environed Gloucester, and by rapid marches 

148 



SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 

gain the forks of the Rappahannock and Potomac, and, 
forcing his way by weight of numbers through Maryland 
and Pennsylvania, join Clinton at New York. 

Boats for the passage of the river were prepared and a 
part of the troops passed over, when a furious storm sud- 
denly arose and made any further attempts to cross too 
hazardous to be undertaken. The troops were brought 
back, and Cornwallis lost hope. After that the bombard- 
ment of his lines was continuous, severe, and destructive, 
and on the 17th he offered to make terms for surrender. 
On the following day Lieutenant-Colonel de Laurens and 
Viscount de Noailles (a kinsman of Madame Lafayette), 
as commissioners of the allies, met Lieutenant - Colonel 
Dtmdas and Major Ross, of the British army, at the house 
of the Widow Moore to arrange terms for capitulation. 
They were made similar to those demanded of Lincoln at 
Charleston eighteen months before. The capitulation 
was duly signed, October 19, 1781, and late on the after- 
noon of the same day Cornwallis, his army, and public 
property were surrendered to the allies.^ 

For the siege of Yorktown the French provided thirty- 
seven ships of the line, and the Americans nine. The 
Americans furnished nine thousand land troops (of whom 
fifty-five hundred were regulars), and the French seven 
thousand. Among the prisoners were two battalions of 
Anspachers, amounting to ten himdred and twenty-seven 
men, and two regiments of Hessians, numbering eight 
hundred and seventy-five. The flag of the Anspachers 
was given to Washington by the Congress. 

The news of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown 
spread great joy throughout the colonies, especially at 
Philadelphia, the seat of the national government. Wash- 
ington sent Lieutenant-Colonel Tilghman to Congress with 
the news. He rode express to Philadelphia to carry the 

^ For the text of the articles of capitulation, and the general 
return of the officers and privates surrendered, see Harper's 
Encyclopcsdia of United States History, X. 

149 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

despatches of the chief announcing the joyful event. He 
entered the city at midnight, October 23d, and knocked 
so violently at the door of Thomas McKean, the president 
of Congress, that a watchman was disposed to arrest him. 
Soon the glad tidings spread over the city. The watch- 
man, proclaiming the hour and giving the usual cry, "All's 
well," added, "and Comwallis is taken!" Thousands of 
citizens rushed from their beds, half dressed, and filled the 
streets. The old State-house bell, that had clearly pro- 
claimed independence, now rang out tones of gladness. 
Lights were seen moving in every house. The first blush 
of morning was greeted with the booming of cannon, and 
at an early hour the Congress assembled and with quick- 
beating hearts heard Charles Thomson read the despatch 
from Washington. At its conclusion it was resolved to 
go in a body to the Lutheran church, at 2 p.m., and "re- 
turn thanks to the Almighty God for crowning the allied 
armies of the United States and France with success."^ 



II 

THE RESULTS OF YORKTOWN 

By Claude Halstead Van Tyne, Ph.D. 

The surrender of Cornwallis came at the right time to 
produce a great political effect in England. The war had 
assumed such tremendous proportions that accumulated 
disaster seemed to threaten the ruin of Great Britain. 
From India came news of Hyder All's temporary successes, 
and of the presence of a strong French armament which 
demanded that England yield every claim except to Ben- 

^ A detailed description of the topography and events of the 
Yorktown campaign is afforded in Lossing's Pictorial Field-Book 
of the Revolution, II, chap. xii. An elaborate and authoritative 
study from a military point of view is provided in The Yorktown 
Campaign, by Henry P. Johnston. Both histories are published 
by Harper & Brothers. 

150 



THE RESULTS OF YORKTOWN 

gal. That Warren Hastings and Sir Eyre Coote would yet 
save the British Empire there, the politicians could not 
foresee. Spain had already driven the British forces from 
Florida, and in the spring of 1782 Minorca fell before her 
repeated assaults and Gibraltar was fearfully beset. De 
Grasse's successes during the winter in the West Indies 
left only Jamaica, Barbadoes, and Antigua in British hands. 
St. Eustatius, too, was recaptured, and it was not until the 
middle of April that Rodney regained England's naval 
supremacy by a famous victory near Marie - Gal ante. ^ 
England had not a friend in Europe, and was beset at 
home by violent agitation in Ireland, to which she was 
obliged to yield an independent Irish Parliament.^ Rod- 
ney's victory and the successful repulsion of the Spaniards 
from Gibraltar, in the summer of 1782, came too late to 
save the North ministry. 

The negotiations between the English and American 
peace envoys dragged on. Congress had instructed the 
commissioners not to make terms without the approval 
of the French court, but the commissioners became sus- 
picious of Vergennes, broke their instructions, and dealt 
directly and solely with the British envoys. Boundaries, 
fishery questions, treatment of the American loyalists, 
and settlement of American debts to British subjects were 
settled one after another, and, November 30, 1782, a pro- 
visional treaty was signed. The definitive treaty was de- 
layed until September 3, 1783, after France and England 
had agreed upon terms of peace. ^ 

America awaited the outcome almost with lethargy. 
After Yorktown the country relapsed into indifference, 
and Washington was left helpless to do anything to assure 
victory. He could only wait and hope that the enemy 
was as exhausted as America. Disorganization was seen 
everywhere — in politics, in finance, and in the army. 

^Annual Register, XXV, 252-257, 
2 Two Centuries of Irish History, 91. 
^ Treaties and Conventions, 370, 375. 

151 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Peace came like a stroke of good-fortune rather than a 
prize that was won. Congress (January 14, 1784) could 
barely assemble a quorum to ratify the treaty.^ 

During the war many had feared that British victory 
would mean the overthrow in England of constitutional 
liberty. The defeat, therefore, of the king's purpose in 
America seemed a victory for liberalism in England as 
well as in America. Personal government was over- 
thrown, and no British king has gained such power since. 
The dangers to freedom of speech and of the press were 
ended. Corruption and daring disregard of public law 
received a great blow. The ancient course of English 
constitutional development was resumed. England never, 
it is true, yielded to her colonies what America had de- 
manded in 1775, but she did learn to handle the affairs 
of her colonies with greater diplomacy, and she does not 
allow them now to get into such an unsympathetic state. 

Great Britain herself was not so near ruin as she 
seemed; she was still to be the mother of nations, and 
the English race was not weakened, though the empire was 
broken. In political, social, and intellectual spirit Eng- 
land and America continued to be much the same. Eng- 
lish notions of private and public law still persisted in 
independent America. The large influence which the 
Anglo-Saxon race had long had upon the world's destiny 
was not left with either America or England alone, but 
with them both. America only continued England's 
"manifest destiny" in America, pushing her language, 
modes of political and intellectual activity, and her social 
customs westward and southward — driving back Latin 
civilization in the same resistless way as before the Revo- 
lution. 

For America much good came out of the Revolution. 
Americans had acted together in a great crisis, and Wash- 
ington's efforts in the army to banish provincial distinc- 

^ Journals of Congress, January 13, 14, 1784. 
152 



THE RESULTS OF YORKTOWN 

tions did much to create fellow-feeling which would make 
real union possible. With laws and governments alike, 
and the same predominant language, together with com- 
mon political and economic interests, future unity seemed 
assured. 

The republican form of government was now given a 
strong foothold in America. Frederick the Great asserted 
that the new republic could not endure, because "a re- 
publican government had never been known to exist for 
any length of time where the territory was not limited and 
concentrated"; yet America, within a century, was to 
make it a success over a region three times as great as 
the territory for which Frederick foretold failure/ 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS. CHIEFLY 

MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BATTLE OF 

YORKTOWN, 1 781, AND THE 

BATTLES ON THE LAKES, 

1813 AND 1814 

1782. Holland recognizes the independence of the United 
States. The British evacuate Savannah and Charles- 
ton. Signing of the preliminary treaty of peace with Great 
Britain. 

1783. Peace of Versailles between Great Britain, the 
United States, France, and Spain. Great Britain ac- 
knowledges the independence of the United States, re- 
stores Florida and Minorca to Spain, and cedes Tobago to 
France. Evacuation of New York by the British. 

1785. Disputes between the United States and Spain 
over the navigation of the Mississippi and the boundaries 
of the Floridas.- 

1786. Outbreak of Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts. 

^ For the complete history of the American struggle for inde- 
pendence, see Professor Van Tyne's The American Revohition, IX, 
in The American Nation. Harper & Brothers. 

153 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

1787. Suppression of Shays' ' Rebellion. Framing of 
the Constitution of the United States at Philadelphia. 
Congress tindertakes the government of the Northwest 
Territory. 

1788. The Constitution ratified by a majority of the 
States. 

1789. George Washington elected first President of the 
United States. The Continental Congress is superseded 
by the first Congress under the Constitution. Begin- 
ning of the French Revolution. 

1790. Rhode Island (the last of the original thirteen 
States) ratifies the Constitution. Harmar's imsuccessful 
expedition against the Indians of the Northwest Territory. 

1 79 1. Admission of Vermont into the Union. Defeat 
of St. Clair by the Miami Indians. Insurrection of the 
blacks in Hayti against the French. Canada is divided 
into Upper and Lower Canada. 

1792. Admission of Kentucky into the Union. 

1793. Beginning of Washington's second administra- 
tion. Execution of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette. 
Napoleon Bonaparte commands the French artillery at the 
recapture of Toulon from the English. 

1794. Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania. The 
Miami Indians defeated by Gen. Anthony Wayne near 
Maumee Rapids, Ohio. 

1796. Admission of Tennessee into the Union. John 
Adams elected President. Bonaparte becomes the con- 
spicuous figure in European warfare. 

1797. Trouble between France and the United States. 
The Constellation captures Ulnsurgente. 

1798. Passage of the Alien and Sedition laws in the 
United States. 

1799. Death of Washington. 

1800. The seat of government of the United States is 
removed from Philadelphia to Washington. Thomas 
Jefferson elected President. Retrocession of Louisiana 
to France by Spain. 

154 



THE RESULTS OF YORKTOWN 

1801. War between Tripoli and the United States. 

1802. Admission of Ohio into the Union. 

1803. The Louisiana Purchase is negotiated with France. 

1804. Thomas Jefferson re-elected President. Decatur 
captures and burns the frigate Philadelphia at Tripoli. 
Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1 804-1 806. Napoleon pro- 
claimed Emperor of France. 

1805. Peace between the United States and Tripoli. 

1806. The Leander, a British naval vessel, fires into 
an American coaster off Sandy Hook. Great Britain 
issues an "Order in Council" declaring the coast of 
Europe from the Elbe to Brest under blockade. Napoleon 
issues Berlin Decree. Culmination of Aaron Burr's con- 
spiracy and his arrest. 

1807. Congress prohibits the importation of slaves. 
The British man-of-war Leopard fires upon the American 
frigate Chesapeake and takes four seamen claimed as 
British subjects. Aaron Burr tried for conspiracy and 
treason, and acquitted. Another British "Order in 
Coimcil" forbids neutral nations to deal with France. 
Napoleon's Milan decree forbidding trade with England. 
American Embargo Act, prohibiting foreign commerce. 

1808. James Madison elected President. Embargo Act 
repealed. Non-intercourse Act passed, forbidding com- 
merce with Great Britain and France. 

1809. Recall of British minister asked by American 
government. 

1 8 10. Napoleon orders sale of captured American 
vessels, worth with their cargoes $8,000,000. 

181 1. General Harrison defeats Tecumseh at Tippe- 
canoe. Fight between the United States frigate Presi- 
dent and the British sloop-of-war Little Belt. 

181 2. Admission of Louisiana into the Union. The 
United States declares war against Great Britain. The 
Americans, under Hull, invade Canada. Surrender of 
Hull at Detroit. The Constitution captures the Guerriere; 
the Wasp takes the Frolic; the United States, the Mace- 

155 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

donian; and the Constitution, the Java. James Madison 
re-elected President. General Smyth makes a futile 
attempt to invade Canada. 

1813. The British are victorious at Frenchtown. The 
Hornet captures the Peacock. The Americans take York 
(Toronto), and the British are repulsed at Sackett's Har- 
bor. Capture of the Chesapeake by the Shannon. The 
Boxer taken by the Enterprise. Commodore Perry wins 
the battle of Lake Erie 

18 1 4. General Jackson defeats the Creek Indians. The 
Essex surrenders to the Phoehe and the Cherub. The 
Americans are victorious at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. 
Battle of Lake Champlain. In Europe the year was 
chiefly notable for the entry of the Allies into Paris, the 
abdication of Napoleon, and his withdrawal to Elba. 



X 

THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE, 1813 

The opening of the nineteenth century brought years of humilia- 
tion, in which American ideals of a neutral commerce, to be un- 
restricted except by incidents of actual war, collided with the 
passions of two nations engaged in a death-grapple between "the 
elephant and the whale" — the French army and the English 
navy. The established principles of international law were set 
aside, and fifteen hundred American merchantmen were made 
prize under a series of iniquitous Orders in Council and Decrees. 
American sailors were seized by British cruisers on the high seas, 
even on a duly commissioned American man-of-war. President 
Jefferson discovered that great nations at war are not moved by 
ideals of permanent self-interest, and that the rights and the 
friendship of little powers are not trump-cards. 

Then the country entered into the War of 18 12 at the inoppor- 
tune moment when the snows of Russia were about to overwhelm 
Napoleon. In the war the Americans held a talisman which 
could sway even proud Albion : the victories of American cruisers, 
combined with the heroism of the privateers, convinced the Eng- 
lish that, after all, David was a likely youth, whose sling might 
disturb the peace of the nations ; and they agreed, in the Peace of 
Ghent, in 18 14, to terms highly favorable to the United States. 
From that time down to the Civil War the United States had the 
respect of all European nations. 

The War of 18 12 seemed designed by Providence to teach the 
Americans that free institutions do not of themselves create 
trained soldiers or efficient officers. The field of land war was 
strev/n with the dead reputations of commanding officers, and 
the nation underwent the deep humiliation of the destruction of 
the national capital, but the magnificent conduct of the Ameri- 
can navy on the lakes and on the ocean showed what Americans 
could do in a disciplined service with men properly armed and 
supplied. Upon England especially the lesson that, ship against 
ship, the Americans were their equals as navigators and fighting- 

157 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

men was never lost. The naval victories, combined with the de- 
feat of the British by Jackson in the closing days of the war, left 
on the minds of the Americans the impression of a second national 
success. — Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart, in National Ideals. 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, the hero of Lake Erie, 
inherited from his father a fearless, high-strung dis- 
position, and early in life showed his longing for advent- 
ure. The elder Perry was a seaman from the time he 
could lift a handspike, and fought in the Revolutionary 
days, first as a privateersman on a Boston letter-of-marque, 
and afterward as a volunteer on board the frigate Trum- 
bull and the sloop-of-war Mifflin. He was captured and 
imprisoned for eight long months in the famous Jersey 
prison-ship, where he succeeded in braving the dangers of 
disease, starvation, and hardship, and at last regained his 
liberty. Once more he became a privateersman, but ill- 
fortune followed him. He was captured in the English 
Channel, and confined for eighteen months in a British 
prison, whence he again escaped and made his way to 
the island of St. Thomas. From thence he sailed to 
Charleston, South Carolina, where he arrived about the 
time that peace was concluded. After that Perry found 
employment in the East Indian trade until 1798, when 
he was appointed to the command of the U.S.S. General 
Greene. He was the head of a large family, having mar- 
ried in 1783, the oldest of his children being Oliver Hazard. 
Of the four other sons, three of them also entered the navy 
and served with distinction. 

Oliver Hazard as a boy was not physically strong; he 
grew tall at an early age, and his strength was not in keep- 
ing with his inches. Nevertheless, he declared himself pos- 
itively in favor of taking up the sea as a profession, and in 
April of 1799, after his father had been in command of the 
General Greene for one year, to his delight young Perry re- 
ceived his midshipman's warrant and joined the same ship. 

The voung midshipman made several cruises with his 

158 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

father to the West Indies; his health and strength in- 
creased with the life in the open air; he showed capacity 
and courage, and participated in the action that resulted 
in the reduction of Jacmel in connection with the land 
attack of the celebrated General Toussaint's army. This 
was the last active service of the General Greene; she was 
sold and broken up, and upon the reduction of the navy 
in 1 80 1 the elder Perry left the service. In 1803 his son 
returned from a cruise in the Mediterranean and was 
promoted to an acting lieutenancy. 

In our naval history of this time the recurrence of 
various names, and the references made over and over 
again to the same actions and occurrences, are easily ac- 
countable when we think of the small number of vessels 
the United States possessed and the surprisingly few offi- 
cers on the pay-rolls. The high feeling of esprit de corps 
that existed among them came from the fact that they each 
ha.d a chance to prove their courage and fidelity. There 
was a high standard set for them to reach. 

Oliver Hazard Perry went through the same school that, 
luckily for us, graduated so many fine officers and sailors 
— that of the Tripolitan war. After he returned to Amer- 
ica, at the conclusion of peace with Tripoli, he served in 
various capacities along the coast, proving himself an 
efficient leader upon more than one occasion. The first 
service upon which the young officer was employed after 
the commencement of the war with England was taking 
charge of a flotilla of gunboats stationed at Newport. 

As this service was neither arduous nor calculated to 
bring chances for active employment in the way of fight- 
ing, time hung on his hands, and Perry chafed greatly 
imder his enforced retirement. At last he petitioned the 
government to place him in active service, stating plainly 
his desire to be attached to the naval forces that were then 
gathering imder the command of Commodore Chauncey 
on the lakes. His request was granted, to his great joy, 
and he set out with all despatch. 

159 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

It was at an early period of the war that the govern- 
ment had seen the immense importance of gaining the 
command of the western lakes, and in October of 1812 
Commodore Chaimcey had been ordered to take seven 
hundred seamen and one hundred and fifty marines and 
proceed by forced marches to Lake Ontario. There had 
been sent ahead of him a large number of ship-builders 
and carpenters, and great activity was displayed in build- 
ing and outfitting a fleet which might give to the United 
States the possession of Lake Ontario. There was no 
great opposition made to the American arms by the British 
on this lake, but the unfortunate surrender of General 
Hull had placed the English in undisputed possession of 
Lake Erie. 

In March, 181 3, Captain Perry having been despatched 
to the port of Erie, arrived there to find a fleet of ten 
sail being prepared to take the waters against the British 
fleet under Commodore Barclay — an old and experienced 
leader, a hero of the days of Nelson and the Victory. 

Before Perry's arrival a brilliant little action had taken 
place in October of the previous year. Two British ves- 
sels, the Detroit and the Caledonia, came down the lake and 
anchored under the guns of the British Fort Erie on the 
Canadian side. At that time Lieutenant Elliott was su- 
perintending the naval affairs on Lake Erie, and, the news 
having been brought to him of the arrival of the English 
vessels on the opposite side, he immediately determined 
to make a night attack and cut them out. For a long 
time a body of seamen had been tramping their toilsome 
march from the Hudson River to the lakes, and Elliott, 
hearing that they were but some thirty miles away, de- 
spatched a messenger to hasten them forward; at the 
same time he began to prepare two small boats for the 
expedition. About twelve o'clock the wearied seamen, 
footsore and hungry, arrived, and then it was discovered 
that in the whole draft there were but twenty pistols, and 
no cutlasses, pikes, or battle-axes. But Elliott was not 

160 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

dismayed. Applying to General Smyth, who was in com- 
mand of the regulars, for arms and assistance, he was 
supplied with a few muskets and pistols, and about fifty 
soldiers were detached to aid him. 

Late in the afternoon Elliott had picked but his crews 
and manned the two boats, putting about fifty men in 
each; but he did not stir imtil one o'clock on the following 
morning, when in the pitch darkness he set out from the 
mouth of Buffalo Creek, with a long pull ahead. The 
wind was not strong enough to make good use of the 
sails, and the poor sailors were so weary that those who 
were not rowing lay sleeping, huddled together on their 
arms, and displaying great listlessness and little desire for 
fighting. At three o'clock Elliott was alongside the Brit- 
ish vessels. It was a complete surprise; in ten minutes 
he had full possession of them and had secured the crews 
as prisoners. But after making every exertion to get 
under sail, he found to his bitter disappointment that the 
wind was unfortunately so light that the rapid current 
made them gather an increasing stern way every instant. 
Another unfortunate circumstance was that he would 
have to pass the British fort below and quite close to 
hand, for he was on the Canadian shore. As the vessels 
came in sight of the British battery, the latter opened a 
heavy fire of rotmd and grape, and several pieces of flying 
artillery stationed in the woods took up the chorus. 

The Caledonia, being a smaller vessel, succeeded in getting 
out of the current, and was beached in as safe a position 
as possible imder one of the American batteries at Black 
Rock, across the river; but Elliott was compelled to drop 
his anchor at the distance of about four hundred yards 
from two of the British batteries. He was almost at their 
mercy, and in the extremity he tried the effect of a ruse, or, 
better, made a threat that we must believe he never in- 
tended carrying into effect. 

Observing an officer standing on the top of an earth- 
work, he hailed him at the top of his voice : 

i6i 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

"Heigh, there, Mr. John Bull! if you fire another gun 
at me I'll bring up all my prisoners, and you can use them 
for targets!" he shouted. 

The answer was the simultaneous discharge of all of the 
Englishman's guns. But not a single prisoner was brought 
on deck to share the fate of the Americans, who felt the 
effect of the fire, and who now began to make strenuous 
efforts to return it. Elliott brought all of the gims on one 
side of his ship, and replied briskly, until he suddenly dis- 
covered that all of his ammunition was expended. Now 
there was but one chance left : to cut the cable, drift down 
the river out of the reach of the heavy batteries, and 
make a stand against the flying artillery with small arms. 
This was accordingly done, but as the sails were raised the 
fact was ascertained that the pilot had taken French 
leave. No one else knew the channel, and, swinging 
about, the vessel drifted astern for some ten minutes; 
then, fortunately striking a cross-current, she brought up 
on the shore of Squaw Island, near the American side. 
Elliott sent a boat to the mainland w4th the prisoners first. 
It experienced great difficulty in making the passage, being 
almost swamped once or twice, and it did not return. 
Affairs had reached a crisis, but with the aid of a smaller 
boat, and by the exercise of great care, the remainder of 
the prisoners and the crew succeeded in getting on shore 
at about eight o'clock in the morning. At about eleven 
o'clock a company of British regulars rowed over from the 
Canadian shore to Squaw Island and boarded the Detroit, 
their intention being to destroy her and burn up the 
munitions with which she was laden. Seeing their pur- 
pose, Major Cyrenus Chapin, a good Yankee from Massa- 
chusetts, called for volunteers to return to the island, and, 
despite the difficulties ahead, almost every man signified 
his willingness to go. Quickly making his selection. 
Major Chapin succeeded in landing with about thirty 
men at his back, and drove off the English before they 
had managed to start the flames. About three o'clock 

162 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

a second attempt was made, but it was easily re- 
pulsed. 

The Detroit mounted six long six-pounders, and her 
crew numbered some sixty men. She was worth saving, 
but so badly was she groimded on the island that it was 
impossible to get her off, and, after taking her stores out, 
Elliott set her on fire to get rid of her. The little Cale- 
donia was quite a valuable capture, aside from her arma- 
ment, as she had on board a cargo of furs whose value 
has been estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars. 

But to return to the condition of affairs upon the arrival 
of Captain Perry. The fleet that in a few weeks he had 
under his command consisted of the brig Lawrence, of 
twenty guns, to which he attached his flag; the Niagara, 
of twenty guns, in command of Elliott ; and the schooners 
Caledonia and Ariel, of three and four guns respectively. 
There were, besides, six smaller vessels, carrying from one 
to two guns each; in all. Perry's fleet mounted fifty-five 
guns. The British fleet, under command of Barclay, con- 
sisted of the Detroit (named after the one that was wrecked) , 
the Queen Charlotte, and the Lady Prevost. They mounted 
nineteen, seventeen, and thirteen guns, in the order named. 
The brig Hunter carried ten guns; the sloop Little Belt, 
three; and the schooner Chippeway, one gim; in all, Bar- 
clay had sixty-three guns, not counting several swivels — 
that is, more than eight gims to the good. 

The morning of September loth dawned fine and clear. 
Perry, with his fleet anchored about him, lay in the quiet 
waters of Put-in Bay. A light breeze was blowing from 
the south. Very early a number of sail were seen out on 
the lake beyond the point, and soon the strangers were 
discovered to be the British fleet. Everything depended 
now upon the speed with which the Americans could pre- 
pare for action. In twelve minutes every vessel was under 
way and sailing out to meet the on-comers; the Lawrence 
led the line. As the two fleets approached, the British 

163 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

concentrated the fire of their long and heavy guns upon 
her. She came on in silence; at her peak was flying a 
huge motto-flag — plain to view were the words of the 
brave commander of the Chesapeake, "Don't give up the 
ship." 

The responsibility that rested upon the young com- 
mander's shoulders was great; his position was most pre- 
carious. This was the first action between the fleets of 
the two hostile countries ; it was a battle for the dominion 
of the lakes; defeat meant that the English could land at 
any time an expeditionary force at any point they chose 
along the shores of our natural northern barrier. The 
Lawrence had slipped quite a way ahead of the others, 
and Perry found that he would have to close, in order to 
return the English fire, as at the long distance he was surely 
being ripped to pieces. 

Signalling the rest of the fleet to follow him, he made 
all sail and bore down upon the English; but, to quote 
from the account in the Naval Temple, printed in the 
year 1816, "Every brace and bowline of the Lawrence 
being shot away, she became unmanageable, notwith- 
standing the great exertion of the sailing-master. In this 
situation she sustained the action within canister distance 
upward of two hours, until every gun was rendered use- 
less and the greater part of her crew either killed or 
wounded." 

It is easy to imagine the feelings of Perry at this mo- 
ment. The smaller vessels of his fleet had not come 
within firing distance; there was absolutely nothing for 
him to do on board the flag-ship except to lower his flag. 
Yet there was one forlorn hope that occurred to the 
yoimg commander, and without hesitation he called away 
the only boat capable of floating; taking his flag, he 
quitted the Lawrence and rowed off for the Niagara. The 
most wonderful accounts of hair-breadth escapes could 
not equal that of Perry upon this occasion. Why his 
boat was not swamped, or its crew and commander killed, 

164 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

cannot be explained. Three of the British ships fired 
broadsides at him at pistol-shot distance as he passed 
by them in succession; and, although the water boiled 
about him, and the balls whistled but a few inches over- 
head, he reached the Niagara in safety. 




^^4^ 



A- 



& 



^UA 



THE TWO SQUADRONS JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE 

In this diagram and the following, A is the British squadron, and its vessels 
are designated by Roman numerals: I, Chippeivay; II, Detroit; III, Hunter; IV, 
Queen Charlotte; V, Lady Prevost; VI, Little Belt. B is the American squadron, 
and the vessels are designated by Arabic numerals: i, Scorpion; 2, Ariel; 3, 
Lawrence; 4, Caledonia; 5, Niagara; 6, Somers; 7, Porcupine; 8, Tigress; 9, Trippe. 

The diagrams were furnished to Benson J. Lossing by Commodore Stephen 
Champlin, of the United States Navy, the commander of the Scorpion in the 
battle. 

There are but a few parallel cases to this, of a com- 
mander leaving one ship and transferring his flag to an- 
other in the heat of action. 

The Duke of York upon one occasion shifted his flag, 
in the battle of Solebay; and in the battle of Texel, fought 
on August II, 1673, the English Admiral Sprague shifted 
his flag from the Royal Prince to the St. George ; and the 
Dutch Admiral Van Tromp shifted his flag from the 
Golden Lion to the Comet, owing to the former vessel being 
practically destroyed by a concentrated fire. This does 
not detract from the gallantry of Perry's achievement. 
The danger he faced was great, and he was probably 
closer to the enemy's vessels than any of the commanders 
above mentioned. 

Perry's yoimger brother, who was but a midshipman, 
was one of the seven other men in the boat. They left 

165 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

on board the Lawrence not above a half-score of able-bodied 
men to look after the numerous wounded. Owing to the 
opinions of many of the contemporary writers, who gave 
way to an intense feeling of partisanship, some bitterness 
was occasioned and sides were taken in regard to the 
actions of Master Commandant Elliott and his superior 
officer; but, looking back at it from this day, we can see 
little reason for any feeling of jealousy. It is hard to 
point the finger at any one on the American side in this 
action and say that he did not do his duty. As Perry 
reached the side of the Niagara the wind died away until 
it was almost calm; the smaller vessels, the sloops and 
schooners — the Somers, the Scorpion, the Tigress, the 
Ohio, and the Porcupine — were seen to be well astern. 
Upon Perry setting foot on deck, Elliott congratulated him 
upon the way he had left his ship, and volunteered to 
bring up the boats to windward, if he could be spared. 
Upon receiving permission, he jumped into the boat in 
which Perry had rowed from the Lawrence and set out 



ttJi ^^ a ^ ^ ^ 




-IL 






7 

THE FIRST POSITION IN THE BATTLE 



to bring up all the forces. Every effort was made to form 
a front of battle, and the little gunboats, urged on by 
sweeps and oars, were soon engaged in a race for glory. 
In the mean time, however, the English had slackened their 
fire as they saw the big flag lowered from the Lawrence' s 
mast-head; they supposed that the latter had struck, and 
set up a tremendous cheering. This was hushed as they 
caught sight of the flash of oars and realized what was 

i66 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

going forward., In a few minutes, out of the thick smoke 
came the Niagara, breaking their line and firing her broad- 
* sides with such good execution that great confusion fol- 
lowed throughout the fleet. Two of their larger brigs, 
the Queen Charlotte and Detroit, ran afoul of each other, 
and the Niagara, giving signal for close action, ran across 
the bow of one ship and the stem of the other, raking 
them both with fearful effect; then, squaring away and 
running astern of the Lady Prevost, she got in another 
raking fire, and, sheering off, made for the Hunter. Now 
the little one-gun and two-gun vessels of the American 
fleet were giving good accounts of themselves. 

Although their crews were exposed to full view and 
stood waist-high above the bulwarks, they did no dodging; 
their shots were well directed, and they raked the Eng- 
lishmen fore and aft, carrying away all the masts of the 
Detroit and the mizzen-mast of the Queen Charlotte. 

A few minutes after 3 p.m. a white flag at the end of a 
boarding-pike was lifted above the bulwarks of the Hunter. 
At sight of this the Chippeway and Little Belt crowded all 
sail and tried to escape, but in less than a quarter of an 
hour they were captured and brought back by the Trippe 
and Scorpion, imder the commands of Lieutenant Thomas 
Holdup and Sailing-Master Stephen Champlin. With a 
ringing cheer the word went through the line that the 
British had surrendered. The sovereignty of Lake Erie 
belonged to America. The question of supremacy was 
settled. 

The events of the day had been most dramatic. This 
fight amid the wooded shores and extending arms of the 
bay was viewed from shore by himdreds of anxious Ameri- 
cans. The bright simlight and calm surface of the lake, 
the enshrouding fog of smoke that from shore hid all but 
the spurts of flame and the topmasts and occasionally 
the flags of the vessels engaged, all had combined to make 
a drama of the most exciting and awe-inspiring interest. 
Nor was the last act to be a letting- down. Perry deter- 

167 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

mined to receive the surrender of the defeated enemy no- 
where else but on the deck of his old flag-ship that was 
slowly drifting up into the now intermingled fleets. 



THE SECOND POSITION IN THE BATTLE 

Once more he lowered his broad pennant and rowed 
out for the crippled Lawrence. He was received on board 
with three feeble cheers, the wounded joining in, and a 
number of men crawling up from the slaughter-pen of a 
cockpit, begrimed and bloody. 

On board the Lawrence there had been left but one 
surgeon. Usher Parsons. He came on deck red to the 
elbows from his work below, and the terrible execution 
done by the concentrated English fire was evident to the 
English officers as they stepped on board the flag-ship. 
Dead men lay everyivhere. A whole gun's crew were 
littered about alongside of their wrecked piece. From 
below came the mournful howling of a dog. The cockpit 
had been above the water's surface, owing to the Law- 
rence's shallow draught, and here was a frightful sight. 
The wounded had been killed outright or wounded again 
as they lay on the surgeon's table Twice had Perry called 
away the surgeon's aids to help work ship, and once his 
hail of "Can any wounded men below there pull a rope?" 
was answered by three or four brave, mangled fellows 
crawling up on deck to try to do their duty. All this was 
apparent to the English officers as they stepped over the 
bodies of the dead and w^ent aft to where Perry stood 
with his arms folded, no vainglorious expression on his 

i68 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

face, but one of sadness for the deeds that had been done 
that day. Each of the EngHsh officers in turn presented 
his sword, and in reply Perry bowed and requested that 
the side-arms should be retained. As soon as the formali- 
ties had been gone through with, Perry tore off the back 
of an old letter he took from his pocket, and, using his 
stiff hat for a writing-desk, scribbled the historic message 
which a detractor has charged he cribbed from Julius 
Caesar: "We have met the enemy and they are ours: — 
two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." 

Calling away a small boat, he sent Midshipman Forrest 
with the report to Gen. William Henry Harrison. 

A computation has been made by one historian of the 
number of guns directed against the Lawrence in the early 
part of the action. The English had heavier armaments 
and more long guns; they could fight at a distance where 
the chubby carronade was useless. The Lawrence had but 
seven guns whose shots could reach her opponents, while 
the British poured into her the concentrated fire of thirty- 
two. This accounts for the frightful carnage. 

IT 7 7^^^^*^^ 

POSITIONS AT THE CLOSE OF THE BATTLE 

When the Lawrence was being shot through and through, 
and there were but three guns that could reply to the 
enemy's fire, Lieutenant Yamell, disfigured by a bad 
woimd across his face from a splinter, came up to where 
Perry was standing. "The officers of my division have 
all been cut down," he said. "Can I have others?" 
Perry looked about him and sent three of his aid to help 
Yamell, but in less than a quarter of an hour the lieu- 

169 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

tenant returned again. His words were almost the same 
as before, but he had a fresh wound in his shoulder. 
"Those officers," he said, "have been cut down also." 

."There are no more," Perry replied. "Do your best 
without them." 

Three times was Yamell wounded, and three times after 
his wounds had been hurriedly dressed he returned to his 
post. 

Dulany Forrest, the midshipman whom Perry sent with 
the despatch to General Harrison, had a most remarkable 
escape. He was a brave lad who had faced death before; 
he had seen the splinters fly in the action between the 
Constitution and the Java. Forrest was standing close to 
Captain Perry when a grape-shot that had glanced from 
the side of a port struck the mast, and, again deflected, 
caught the midshipman in the chest. He fell, gasping, 
at Perry's feet. 

"Are you badly hurt, lad?" asked the latter, anxiously, 
as he raised the midshipman on his knee. 

"No, sir; not much," the latter answered, as he caught 
his breath. "But this is my shot, I think." And with 
that he extracted the half-spent ball from his clothing and 
slipped it into his pocket. 

Midshipman Henry Laub was killed in the cockpit just 
after having had a dressing applied to his shattered right 
arm. A Narragansett Indian who served as a gunner in 
the forward division of the Lawrence was killed in the 
same manner. 

A summary of the losses on both sides shows that, de- 
spite the death-list of the Lawrence, the English loss was 
more severe. On board the American flag-ship, twenty- 
two were killed and sixty-one were wounded; on board 
the Niagara, two killed and twenty five wounded; the 
Ariel had one, killed and three woimded; the Scorpion, 
two killed; the Caledonia, three wounded; and the 
Somers and Trippe each showed but two wounded men 
apiece. In all, twenty-seven were killed and ninety-six 

170 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 

wounded on the American side. The comparison of the 
loss of the rest of the fleet and that suffered by the Law- 
rence makes a remarkable showing. The English lost 
forty-one killed and ninety-four wounded altogether. A 
number of Canadian Indians were foiind on board the 
English vessels. They had been engaged as marksmen, 
but the first shot had taken all the fight out of them, and 
they had hidden and skulked for safety. 

Perry's treatment of the prisoners was magnanimous. 
Everything that would tend to relieve the sufferings of 
the wounded was done, and relief was distributed im- 
partially among the sufferers on both sides. The result 
of this action was a restoration of practical peace along the 
frontier of the lake. The British evacuated Detroit and 
Michigan, and the dreaded invasion of the Indians that 
the settlers had feared so long was headed off. 

Perry, who held but a commission of master comman- 
dant, despite his high-acting rank, was promoted at once 
to a captaincy, the date of his commission bearing the 
date of his victory. He was given the command of the 
frigate Java, a new forty-four-gun ship then fitting out at 
Baltimore. Gold medals were awarded to him and to 
Elliott by Congress, and silver medals to each of the com- 
missioned officers. A silver medal also was given to the 
nearest male relative of Lieutenant Brooks, of the marines, 
and swords to the nearest male relatives of Midshipmen 
Laub, Claxton, and Clark. Three months' extra pay was 
voted to all the officers, seamen, and marines, and, in addi- 
tion. Congress gave $225,000 in prize-money, to be di- 
vided among the American forces engaged in the action. 
This sum was distributed in the following proportions: 
Commodore Chauncey, who was in command on the lakes, 
$12,750; Perry and Elliott, $7140 each — besides which Con- 
gress voted Perry an additional $5000; the commanders of 
gunboats, lieutenants, sailing-masters, and lieutenants of 
marines received $2295 each; midshipmen, $811 ; petty offi- 
cers, $447 per capita; and marines and sailors, $209 apiece. 

171 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

No money, however, could repay the brave men for the 
service they had rendered the coimtry. To-day the 
dwellers along the shores of Lake Erie preserve the anni- 
versary of the battle as an occasion for rejoicing. While 
the naval actions at sea reflected honor and glory to their 
commanders and credit to the service, the winning of Lake 
Erie averted a national catastrophe.^ 

* "The destruction of the British fleet gave the United States 
supremacy on Lake Erie and compelled the abandonment of 
Maiden and Detroit; it recovered Michigan, and made a real in- 
vasion of Canada once more a possibility, for by means of the 
control of the lakes thus given Harrison was enabled to enter 
at once upon an aggressive campaign on the Canadian side of 
Lake Erie. His men were easily transported to the north side, 
and his line of communication was no longer threatened by a 
British fleet. Its effect, too, upon the American people was de- 
cidedly important; for the first time an American fleet had met a 
British fleet and defeated it. Nor was it fair to discount the 
significance of the victory by saying that the vessels were small 
and of hasty construction. The charm of British invincibility 
had been broken in the great ship duels which made the names of 
Decatur, Bainbridge, and Hull household words. To this list 
was now added the name of Perry, who was looked upon by the 
Americans as a hero of the same class as Nelson." — Prof. Kendric 
Charles Babcock in The Rise of American Nationality, 



XI 
THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, 1814 

THE first Thomas Macdonough was a major in the Con- 
tinental Army, and his three sons also possessed desires 
for entering the service of their country. The oldest had 
been a midshipman under Commodore Truxt on, but, being 
woimded in the action between the Constellation and the 
Ulnsurgente, he had to retire from the navy owing to the 
amputation of his leg. But his younger brother, Thomas 
Macdonough, Jr., succeeded him, and he has rendered his 
name and that of Lake Champlain inseparable; but his 
fearlessness and bravery were shown on many occasions 
long before he was ordered to the lakes. 

In 1806 he was first -lieutenant of the Siren, a little 
sloop-of-war in the Mediterranean service. On one occa- 
sion when Captain Smith, the commander of the Siren, 
had gone on shore, young Lieutenant Macdonough saw a 
boat from a British frigate lying in the harbor row up to 
an American brig a short distance off, and afterward put 
out again with one more man in her than she had original- 
ly. This looked suspicious, and Macdonough sent to the 
brig to ascertain the reason, with the result that he found 
that an American had been impressed by the English cap- 
tain's orders. Macdonough quietly lowered his own boat 
and put after the heavy cutter, which he soon overhauled. 
Although he had but four men with him, he took the 
man out of the cutter and brought him on board the 
Siren. When the English captain heard, or rather saw, 
what had occurred — it was right imder the bow of his 

173 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

frigate that the affair took place — he waxed wroth, and, 
calHng away his gig, he rowed to the Siren to demand an 
explanation. 

The following account of the incident is quoted from 
the life of Macdonough in Frost's Naval Biography : 

"The Englishman desired to know how Macdonough 
dared to take a man from one of his Majesty's boats. 
The lieutenant, with great politeness, asked him down 
into the cabin; this he refused, at the same time repeating 
the same demand, with abundance of threats. The Eng- 
lishman threw out some threats that he would take the 
man by force, and said he would haul the frigate alongside 
the Siren for that purpose. To this Macdonough replied 
that he supposed his ship could sink the Siren, but as long 
as she could swim he should keep the man. The English 
captain said to Macdonough: 

"'You are a very young man, and a very indiscreet 
yoimg man. Suppose I had been in the boat — what 
would you have done?' 

"'I would have taken the man or lost my life.' 

"'What, sir! would you attempt to stop me, if I were 
now to attempt to impress men from that brig?' 

"'I would; and to convince yourself I would, you have 
only to make the attempt.' 

"On this the Englishman went on board his ship, and 
shortly afterward was seen bearing down in the direction 
of the American vessel. Macdonough ordered his boat 
manned and armed, got into her himself, and was in readi- 
ness for pursuit. The Englishman took a circuit aroimd 
the American brig, and returned again to the frigate. 
When Captain Smith came on board he justified the con- 
duct of Macdonough, and declared his intention to protect 
the American seaman." 

Although Macdonough was very young, and his rank 
but that of a lieutenant, people who knew him were not 
surprised to hear that he had been appointed to take com- 
mand of the little squadron on Lake Champlain. These 

174 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

vessels were btiilt of green pine, and almost without ex- 
ception constructed in a hurried fashion. They had to 
be of light draught, and yet, odd to relate, their general 
model was the same as that of ships that were expected 
to meet storms and high seas. 

Macdonough was just the man for the place; as in the 
case of Perry, he had a superb self-reliance and was eager 
to meet the enemy. 

Lake Champlain and the coimtry that surrounds it 
were considered of great importance by the English, and, 
descending from Canada, large bodies of troops poured 
into New York State. But the American government 
had, long before the war was fairly started, recognized 
the advantage of keeping the water commimications on 
the northern frontier. The English began to build vessels 
on the upper part of the lake, and the small force of ships 
belonging to the Americans was increased as fast as pos- 
sible. It was a race to see which could prepare the better 
fleet in the shorter space of time. 

In the fall of the year 1814 the English had one fairly 
sized frigate, the Confiance, mounting thirty-nine guns; 
a brig, the Linnet; a sloop, Chubb, and the sloop Finch; 
besides which they possessed thirteen large galleys, aggre- 
gating eighteen guns. In all, therefore, the English fleet 
mounted ninety-five guns. The Americans had the Sara- 
toga, sloop of war, twenty-six gims; the Eagle, twenty; 
the Ticonderoga, seventeen; the Preble, seven; and ten 
galleys carrying sixteen; their total armament was nine 
guns less than the British. 

By the first week in September Sir George Prevost had 
organized his forces and started at the head of fourteen 
thousand men to the southward. It was his intention to 
dislodge General Macomb, who was stationed at Platts- 
burg, where considerable fortifications had been erected. 
A great deal of the militia force had been drawn down the 
State to the city of New York, owing to the fears then 
entertained that the British intended making an attack 

175 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

upon the city from their fleet. It was Sir George's plan 
to destroy forever the power of the Americans upon the 
lake, and for that reason it was necessary to capture the 
naval force which had been for some time under the com- 
mand of Macdonough. The English leader arranged a 
plan with Captain Downie, who was at the head of the 
squadron, that simultaneous attacks should be made by 
water and land. At eight o'clock on the morning of Sep- 
tember nth news was brought to Lieutenant Macdonough 
that the enemy was approaching. As his own vessels were 
in a good position to repel an attack, he decided to remain 
at anchor and await the onslaught in a line formation. 
In about an hour the enemy had come within gimshot dis- 
tance, and formed a line of his own parallel with that of 
the Americans. There was little or no breeze, and con- 
sequently small chance for manoeuvring. The Confiance 
evidently claimed the honor of exchanging broadsides with 
the Saratoga. The Linnet stopped opposite the Eagle, 
and the galleys rowed in and began to fire at the Ticon- 
deroga and the Preble. 

Macdonough wrote such a clear and concise account of 
the action that it is best to quote from it: 

"... The whole force on both sides became engaged, 
the Saratoga suffering much from the heavy fire of the 
Confiance. I could perceive at the same time, however, 
that our fire was very destructive to her. The Ticonderoga,, 
Lieutenant-Commandant Cassin, gallantly sustained her 
full share of the action. At half -past ten the Eagle, not 
being able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable, and 
anchored in a more eligible position, between my ship and 
the Ticonderoga, where she very much annoyed the enemy, 
but unfortunately leaving me exposed to a galling fire 
from the enemy's brig. 

"Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dis- 
mounted or unmanageable, a stern-anchor was let go, the 
bower-cable cut, and the ship winded with a fresh broad- 
side on the enemy's ship, which soon after surrendered. 

176 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the brig, which 
struck about fifteen minutes afterward. The sloop which 
was opposed to the Eagle had struck some time before, and 
drifted down the line. The sloop which was with their 
galleys had also struck. Three of their galleys are said 




PLAN OF THE NAVAL ACTION ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN 



to be sunk; the others pulled off. Our galleys were about 
obeying with alacrity the signal to follow them, when all 
the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking state. 
It then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys 
and order their men to the pumps. I could only look at 
the enemy's galleys going off in a shattered condition, for 
there was not a mast in either squadron that could stand 

177 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

to make sail on. The lower rigging, being nearly all shot 
away, hung down as though it had just been placed over 
the mast-heads. 

"The Saratoga had fifty-nine round shot in her hull; 
the Confiance one himdred and five. The enemy's shot 
passed principally just over our heads, as there were not 
twenty whole hammocks in the nettings at the close of 
the action, which lasted, without intermission, two hours 
and twenty minutes. 

**The absence and sickness of Lieutenant Raymond 
Perry left me without the assistance of that able officer. 
Much ought fairly to be attributed to him for his great 
care and attention in disciplining the ship's crew as her 
first-lieutenant. His place was filled by a gallant yoimg 
officer. Lieutenant Peter Gamble, who, I regret to inform 
you, was killed early in the action." 

The English had begim the action as if they never 
doubted the result being to their advantage, and, before 
taking up their positions in the line parallel to Mac- 
donough's, Dow^nie had sailed upon the waiting fleet bows 
on; thus most of his vessels had been severely raked be- 
fore they were able to return the fire. As soon as Sir 
George Prevost saw the results of the action out on the 
water, he gave up all idea of conquest, and began the re- 
treat that left New York free to breathe again. The 
frontier was saved. The hills and the shores of the lake 
had been crowded with multitudes of farmers, and the 
two armies encamped on shore had stopped their own 
preparations and fighting to watch. 

Sir George Prevost had bombarded the American forts 
from the opposite side of the River Saranac, and a brigade 
endeavored to ford the river with the intention of attack- 
ing the rear of General Macomb's position. However, 
they got lost in the woods, and were recalled by a mounted 
messenger just in time to hear the cheers and shouts of 
victory arise from all about them. 

In the battle the Saratoga had twenty-eight men killed 

178 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

and twenty-nine wounded, more than a quarter of her 
entire crew; the Eagle lost thirteen killed and twenty 
wounded; the Ticonderoga, six killed and six wounded; 
the Preble, two killed; and the galleys, three killed and 
three wounded. The Saratoga was hulled fifty-five times, 
and had caught on fire twice from the hot shot fired by 
the Confiance. The latter vessel was reported to have lost 
forty-one killed outright and eighty-three wounded. In 
all, the British loss was eighty-four killed and one hundred 
and ten wounded. 

Macdonough received substantial testimonials of grati- 
tude from the country at large, the Legislature of New 
York giving him one thousand acres of land, and the 
State of Vermont two hundred. Besides this, the cor- 
porations of Albany and New York City made him the 
present of a valuable lot, and from his old command in the 
Mediterranean he received a handsome presentation sword, ^ 

SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 

MILITARY, IN THE HISTORY OF THE 

UNITED STATES, BETWEEN THE 

BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, 

1814, AND THE WAR WITH 

MEXICO, 1846-1847 

1 8 14. General Jackson seizes Pensacola. The Hart- 
ford Convention. Treaty of Ghent between Great Britain 
and the United States terminates the war. 

181 5. Before the news of peace reached this country 
General Jackson repulses the British attack on New Or- 

^"The decisiveness of this battle was evident at once to the 
British. Hardly was the result known, when measures were 
taken for the retreat of Prevost's army into Canada. At best, 
Prevost's assault upon the land forces had been so poor as to 
give little aid to the fleet; and for this failure and his prompt 
retreat Prevost was ordered to trial by court-martial, but died 
before the trial could take place. The war was practically 
ended by this retreat of the British army from Plattsburg into 

179 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

leans, defeating in a bloody battle veterans who had fought 
against Napoleon. Escape of Napoleon from Elba. The 
"Hundred Days." Battle of Waterloo. Second abdica- 
tion of Napoleon, who is sent to St. Helena. Commodore 
Decatur imposes terms upon the Dey of Algiers, and exacts 
reparation from Timis and Tripoli. 

1816. James Monroe elected President. Indiana ad- 
mitted into the Union. 

181 7. Admission of Mississippi into the Union. 

18 18. Beginning of the Seminole War. Illinois ad- 
mitted into the Union. Act passed estabUshing the flag 
of the United States. General Jackson captures Spanish 
fort, St. Mark's, Florida. 

18 1 9. Treaty between the United States and Spain for 
the cession of Florida (formal possession given in 182 1). 
Admission of Alabama into the Union. 

. 1820. Admission of Maine into the Union. Adoption 
of the Missouri Compromise, 1820, 1821. James Monroe 
re-elected President. 

1822. Establishment of the colony of Liberia. The 
President recommends recognition of the independence of 
the South American States and Mexico. 

1823. The President announces the "Monroe Doctrine." 

1824. John Quincy Adams elected President. 

1825. Corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument laid in 
presence of Lafayette. 

1827. Parry's expedition to the Arctic circle, latitude 
82° 45'. 

1828. Andrew Jackson elected President. 

Canada. It would seem as though the persistent mismanage- 
ment of the American forces in northern New York, the in- 
competency of Dearborn and Wilkinson, the strange interference 
of Secretary Armstrong, the diversion of the forces of Izard from 
the front of Prevost's army, were all atoned for by the brilliancy 
of the accomplishment of Commodore Macdonough and his 
handful of sailors and soldiers on Lake Champlain." — Prof. 
Kendric Charles Babcock in The Rise of American Nationality. 

180 



THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

1829. First locomotive tried in the United States, at 
Honesdale, Pa. 

1830. The Webster-Hayne debate in Congress. Estab- 
lishment of the Mormon Church. 

183 1. William Lloyd Garrison begins the publication of 
the Liberator in Boston. 

1832. Black Hawk War. Defeat of the Sacs and the 
Foxes. Nullification movement in South Carolina. An- 
drew Jackson re-elected President. 

1833. Henry Clay's tariff compromise. President Jack- 
son removes the public funds from the Bank of the United 
States. Formation of the American Anti-Slavery Society. 

1834. Act of Congress for the formation of Indian Ter- 
ritory. 

1835. Outbreak of the Second Seminole War. Revolu- 
tion in Texas against Mexican authority. Great fire in 
New York. 

1836. Admission of Arkansas into the Union. Martin 
Van Buren elected President. Storming of the Alamo 
by Santa Anna. Houston defeats the Mexicans on the 
San Jacinto. The republic of Texas proclaimed. 

1837. Admission of Michigan into the Union. Financial 
panic throughout the United States. 

1838. Inauguration of transatlantic steam navigation. 

1839. Dissolution of the Confederacy of Central America. 

1840. William Henry Harrison elected President. 

1841. John Tyler succeeds to the Presidency after the 
death of President Harrison. 

1842. Final termination of the Seminole War. The 
Ashburton Treaty between Great Britain and the United 
States for the settlement of the Northeastern boundary 
line concluded. Dorr's Rebellion in Rhode Island. 

1844. James K. Polk elected President. Invention of 
the electric telegraph. 

1845. Admission of Florida and Texas into the Union. 

1846. Admission of Iowa into the Union. War begins 
between the United States and Mexico. The Mexicans 

181 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

defeated at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Surrender 
of Monterey. Occupation of California and New Mexico 
by the American forces. Treaty between Great Britain 
and the United States for the settlement of the North- 
western boundary-line dispute. Discovery of anaesthetics 
by Doctor Norton. 

1847. General Taylor defeats Santa Anna at Buena 
Vista. Occupation of Vera Cruz. American victories at 
Pueblo, Contreras, and Churubusco. Storming of Molino 
del Rey. Storming of Chapultepec and occupation of 
the City of Mexico. 



XII 

THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO, 1843-1846 



THE APPROACH OF WAR 

UPON the annexation- of Texas (in 1845) Mexico at once 
severed her diplomatic relations with the United 
States. This result had been foreshadowed by the ut- 
terances of Mexican officials dating from the revival of 
the question in 1843. The relations, however, of the two 
countries had been difficult to adjust from the time when 
Mexico became independent in 18 21. The most serious 
friction between them arose concerning four subjects: 
claims of the United States citizens on the government of 
Mexico; assistance given the Texans by the people of the 
United States; violation of Mexican territory by United 
States troops; and the annexation of Texas. 

The immediate occasion, however, of the breach of 
diplomatic relations in 1845 was the annexation of Texas. 
When rumors of the renewal of the annexation movement 
came to the city of Mexico in the summer of 1843, Presi- 
dent Santa Anna gave notice to the United States govern- 
ment, in a letter dated August 23d, from Secretary of 
State Bocanegra to Minister Waddy Thompson, that 
"the Mexican government will consider equivalent to a 
declaration of war against the Mexican Republic the pas- 
sage of an act for the incorporation of Texas with the 
territory of the United States; the certainty of the fact 

183 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

being sufficient for the immediate proclamation of war, 
leaving to the civilized world to determine with regard 
to the justice of the cause of the Mexican Nation, in a 
struggle which it has been so far from provoking." ^ 

Thompson replied immediately with a sharply resent- 
ful letter, questioning the sources of information of the 
Mexican authorities as to the prospect of annexation, but 
refusing any explanation whatever. Another letter from 
Bocanegra to Thompson asserted that the advices of the 
Mexican government on the subject were official and 
reliable, and sought to justify the attitude of Mexico as 
follows: "but as it may happen that ambition and de- 
lusion may prevail over public propriety, that personal 
views may triumph over sane and just ideas, and that the 
vigorous reasoning of Mr. John Quincy Adams and his 
co-laborers may be ineffectual, how can it be considered 
strange and out of the way that Mexico, under such a 
supposition, should annoimce that she will regard the 
annexation of Texas as an act of declaration of war.^" ^ 
Secretary of State Upshur approved the course of Thomp- 
son, and instructed him that, in case he were again ad- 
dressed in such offensive language, he should demand 
either a withdrawal of the letter or a suitable apology. 

On November 3, 1843, Almonte, the Mexican minister 
at Washington, in accordance with the instructions of his 
government, notified Upshur, in a communication whose 
terms were hardly less offensive than those used by Bo- 
canegra to Thompson, that if "the United States should, 
in defiance of good faith and of the principles of justice 
which they have constantly proclaimed, commit the un- 
heard-of act of violence (inaudito atentado — the expression 
[says the official translator] is much stronger than the 
translation) of appropriating to themselves an integrant 
part of the Mexican territory, the undersigned, in the 

^ For the whole correspondence beginning with this letter, see 
Senate Docs., 28 Cong., i Sess., I, No. i, pp. 25-48. 
"^Senate Docs., 28 Cong., i Sess., 1, No. i, p. 28. 

184 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 

name of his Nation, and now for them, protests, in the 
most solemn manner, against such an aggression; and he 
moreover declares, by express order of his Government, 
that, on sanction being given by the Executive of the 
Union to the incorporation of Texas into the United 
States, he will consider his mission ended, seeing that, as 
the Secretary of State will have learned, the Mexican 
Government is resolved to declare war so soon as it re- 
ceives information of such an act." On November 8th 
Upshur replied, in a restrained and dignified way, repel- 
ling both the threats and insinuations of Almonte's letter 
and intimating that the policy of the United States would 
not be affected by them/ To this Almonte rejoined, on 
the nth, suggesting that Upshur had been misled by an 
incorrect translation of the letter of November 3d, and 
disclaiming any intention to impute to the authorities of 
the American Union unworthy views or designs as to 
Texas. December i, 1843, Upshur replied, denying that 
he had misimderstood Almonte, and declaring that the 
United States regarded Texas as an independent nation 
and did not feel called on to consult any other nation in 
dealing with it.^ 

On the accomplishment of annexation, the threat of 
Almonte was carried out. The joint resolution making 
the offer was approved March i, 1845, and on March 6th 
he demanded his passports. March 28th the United 
States minister in Mexico was officially notified that the 
diplomatic intercourse between the two countries was at 
an end.^ The expressions of the Mexican papers indicated 
the most intense popular excitement in that country, and 
those of the government treated the war as already exist- 
ing.* Two decrees were passed by the Mexican congress 
and approved by President Herrera, one on June 4th and 

^Senate Docs., 28 Cong., i Sess., I, No. i, pp. ^8, 41. 

^ Ibid., pp. 42-48. 

^Miles' Register, LXVIII, 84. 

* Ibid., 135; Von Hoist, United States, III, 80, nn. 3, 4. 

, 185 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the other on Jirne 7th, providing for an increase of the 
available force in order to resist annexation/ July 20th 
the "supreme government," or executive, recommended 
to the congress a declaration of war against the United 
States from the moment when the government should 
know that annexation had been effected or Texas had 
been invaded. 

There can be little question, indeed, that impatience 
on both sides had gone beyond the point of safety and 
was threatening appeal to arms. No theory of a con- 
spiracy is needed to explain the war with Mexico. While 
it was strongly opposed and condemned by a bold and 
outspoken minority, the votes in Congress and the utter- 
ances of the contemporaneous journals show that it was 
essentially a popular movement, both in Mexico and in 
the United States. The disagreement reached the verge 
of an outbreak in 1837, and the only thing that prevented 
a conflict then was that Congress was a bit more conserva- 
tive than the President; but neither the aggressiveness of 
Jackson nor even that of Polk would have been so likely 
to end in actual fighting had it not been well understood 
that they were backed by sympathetic majorities. On 
the Mexican side, at the critical moment, the pacific ten- 
dencies of the executive were overpowered by the angry 
impulse of the people. 

May 28, 1845, General Taylor, who was in command of 
the troops in the Southwest, was ordered, in view of the 
prospect of annexation, to hold himself in readiness to 
advance into Texas with the approval of the Texan au- 
thorities, and to defend that republic from any invasion 
of which he should be officially informed after Texas had 
consented to annexation on the terms offered. June 15th 
he was ordered to advance, with the western frontier of 
Texas for his ultimate destination. There he was to 
occupy a convenient point "on or near the Rio Grande," 

^ Dublan y Lozano, Legislacion Mexicana, V, 19-22. 
186 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 

but to limit himself to the defence of the territory of Texas 
unless Mexico should declare war against the United States. 
He was subsequently directed to protect the territory up 
to the Rio Grande, avoiding, however, except in case of 
an outbreak of hostilities, any attack on posts actually 
held by Mexicans, but placing at least a part of his forces 
west of the Nueces/ In July, General Taylor advanced 
into Texas, and in August he established his camp on the 
west bank of the Nueces, near Corpus Christi.^ The spot 
which he selected could hardly be considered as **near" 
the Rio Grande, being, in fact, about one himdred and 
fifty miles therefrom. The location was chosen because 
of its convenience as a temporary base either for defensive 
or offensive operations. 

The army remained in camp near Corpus Christi several 
months. The information Taylor obtained here and re- 
ported to Washington indicated no threatening move- 
ment on the part of the Mexicans; but on October 4th 
he suggested that, if the United States government meant 
to insist on the Rio Grande as the boundary, it would 
gain an advantage by occupying points on that river. He 
therefore suggested an advance to Point Isabel and 
Laredo.^ Meanwhile had come the attempt to renew 
diplomatic relations between the United States and 
Mexico, which ended in failure. January 13, 1846, when 
it was known in Washington that Slidell would probably 
not be received by the Mexican government, Taylor was 
ordered to advance to the Rio Grande.^ 

Up to the time of this movement the Mexican govern- 
ment had neglected the distinction in the validity of its 
claims to the territory east of the Rio Grande. It strenu- 



* Taylor's successive orders, in House Exec. Docs., 30 Cong., 
I Sess., VII, No. 60, pp. 7, 79-82. 

2 House Exec. Docs., 30 Cong., i Sess., VII, No. 60, p. 99. 
^ Ibid., pp. 102-109. 

* House Exec. Docs., 30 Cong., 1 Sess., VII, No. 60, p. 90. 

187 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ously asserted the right of Mexico to the whole of Texas, 
whatever its limits might be, and declared that annexa- 
tion would be tantamount to a declaration of war. From 
the Mexican point of view, Taylor invaded Mexico the 
moment he entered Texas. But when he advanced to the 
Rio Grande the distinction was finally made. April 12, 
1846, he was warned by Ampudia, general in command of 
the Mexican forces at Matamoras, to retire in twenty- four 
hours — not beyond the Sabine, as one might have ex- 
pected from the previous attitude of the Mexican govern- 
ment, but beyond the Nueces.^ 

A few days later occurred the first conflict. April 24th 
a party of dragoons sent out by Taylor was ambushed on 
the east side of the river by a large force of Mexicans, and 
after a skirmish, in which a nimiber of men were killed 
and woimded, was captured.^ • The official report of this 
affair reached Washington the evening of Saturday, May 
9th. ^ President Polk had already decided, in con ormity 
with the judgment of all his cabinet except Bancroft, to 
send to Congress a message recommending a declaration 
of war. Now, in formulating the reasons for the declara- 
tion, he asserted that "Mexico has passed the boimdary 
of the United States, has invaded our territory, and shed 
American blood upon the American soil," ^ and with the 
unanimous concurrence of his cabinet he sent the message 
to Congress, Monday, May nth. 

On the same day a bill providing for the enlistment of 
fifty thousand soldiers and the appropriation of ten 
million dollars, the preamble to which re-echoed the Presi- 
dent's assertion that war existed by the act of Mexico 
itself, passed the House by a vote of 174 to 14.^ 



* House Exec. Docs., 30 Cong., i Sess., VII, No. 60, p. 140. 

2 Ibid., p. 141. 

3 See Polk, MS. Diary, entry for May 9, 1846. 

* Richardson, Messages and Papers, IV, 442. 
^ Cong. Globe, 29 Cong., i Sess., 795, 

188 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 
II 

CONQUERING A PEACE (1846-1848) 

It was only after Polk felt assured of the refusal to re- 
ceive Slidell ^ that he assumed an attitude so aggressive 
as clearly to challenge war; and from that time forward 
it seems to have been his desire to carry the struggle just 
far enough to bring Mexico to the point of conceding a 
territorial indemnity on the terms which he had intended 
to offer through Slidell. In accordance with this policy 
he suggested, while the question of Slidell's reception by 
the Paredes government was yet in suspense, that Slidell 
should be directed to go on board a United States vessel 
and wait for further instructions.^ The object of this 
plan was evidently to be able to resume negotiations, as 
soon as Mexico had felt the pressure sufficiently, without 
the delays incident to a correspondence between the two 
capitals. The same considerations influenced, at a later 
stage of the war, the appointment of Trist.^ To this 
method of pushing on the conflict, with the sword in one 
hand and the olive-branch in the other, Polk applied the 
peculiar designation of ** conquering a peace." 

After the declaration of war by Congress, May 12, 1846, 
General Scott, the commander-in-chief of the United States 
Army, was appointed to command directly the forces that 
were to operate against Mexico. According to a plan of 
operations which appears to have originated with Presi- 
dent Polk himself, but which was concurred in by Secre- 
tary of War Marcy and by General Scott, New Mexico and 
California, which Polk intended to claim by way of in- 
demnity, and Chihuahua, were to be occupied and held; 

^ [John Slidell, of New Orleans, appointed a commissioner to 
Mexico in 1845 ^o endeavor to adjust the boundary and re-estab- 
lish relations.] 

2 Polk, MS. Diary, February 17, 1846. 

2 Senate Docs., 30 Cong., i Sess., I, No. i, p. 39. 

189 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the United States forces were to be pushed toward the 
heart of Mexico in order to force the Mexicans to terms ; and 
the naval forces in the Gulf and the Pacific were assigned 
specific duties in connection with the general scheme/ 

The plan was in keeping with the main purpose of the 
war, and was, on the whole, well adapted to insure success- 
The northern provinces were far distant from the city of 
Mexico; the hold of the central government upon them 
was but slight; and, even if its available forces had been 
sufficiently strong and effective to send the troops needed 
to resist invasion, the difficulties of transportation would 
have been hard to overcome. Of course, similar difficulties 
were experienced in throwing the United States troops 
into the interior of northern Mexico; but such operations 
were far easier for a strong government with abundant 
resources than for one so ill established and so lacking 
in means as that of Herrera or Paredes. The population 
of the north Mexican provinces was sparse and un energetic, 
and could not be relied on for its defence; the local gov- 
ernments were weak and inefficient; and in 1846 that of 
California was disastrously affected by dissensions between 
two rival leaders, Jose Castro and Pio Pico, representing 
respectively the northern district and the southern.^ It 
was in the northern district, in the lower valley of the 
Sacramento River and near the bay of San Francisco, that 
the foreign population, including the Americans, was most 
numerous. 

The plan for a campaign directed at the city of Mexico 
was gradually developed as the war went on. The im- 
pression of Polk and his advisers at first was that a vigor- 
ous invasion of Mexico would end the war, without the 
necessity of pushing it far into the interior; and, since 
operations on the coast in the summer were so dangerous, 
the attack was made first in the north. The resistance 

^ Ripley, War with Mexico, I, 149; Polk, MS. Diary, May 14, 
16, 1846. 

* Hittell, California, II, bk. vi., chaps, ii-v, passim. 

190 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 

of the Mexicans was, however, more desperate and pro- 
longed than was expected, and ultimately the change was 
made to the shorter and more direct line of advance by 
way of Vera Cruz. 




191 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The occupation of New Mexico and California was ac- 
complished speedily and with little resistance, General 
Kearny occupied New Mexico in the summer of 1846, and 
the occupation of California under Commodore R. F. Stock- 
ton was completed by January, 1847. The first expeditions 
against Mexico from the north imder Wool and Doniphan 
were inconclusive. 

The army which was most depended on to force Mexico 
to terms was that operating in the east, The campaign 
in this quarter began with an advance from Matamoras 
through Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon into Coahuila. But 
as it progressed the plan was gradually assimilated, so far 
as these states were concerned, to that which had been 
followed in dealing with California and New Mexico, and 
became one of simple occupation; while the attack was 
shifted to the south, and the final advance was made 
from Vera Cruz direct on the city of Mexico. 

In the prosecution of the war, in this part especially, 
the administration was much hampered by the character 
and conduct of the generals on whom the detailed develop- 
ment and execution of the plan devolved. The friction 
thus arising was increased by mutual suspicions of political 
motives between President Polk, certain members of his 
cabinet, and the generals themselves. 

In this war the United States troops, though always 
outnumbered — in some cases heavily — and usually with 
the advantage of position against them, enjoyed such 
superiority both in morale and in materiel that they were 
almost imiformly victorious. Their victories, however, 
were by no means easy; on the contrary, they were ob- 
tained only at the cost of no little bloody fighting and of 
great loss of men. And, as is not unusual in like emer- 
gencies, there was much complaint of the extravagance and 
inefficiency of the quartermaster's department.* 

^ Niles' Register, LXX, 310; Cong. Globe, 29 Cong., 2 Sess., 
298; Polk, MS. Diary, August 18, 19, 1847. 

192 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 

The attack on Mexico began with the advance of Tay- 
lor's army. Two battles, Palo Alto, on May 8, 1846, and 
Resaca de la Palma, on the following day, were required 
to drive the Mexicans across the Rio Grande. Taylor 
then advanced from Matamoras through Tamaulipas into 
Nuevo Leon, and, after defeating the Mexicans in a three 



117° Longitude West 1}'^° from Oreenwich 




days' battle, September 21-23, at Monterey, the capital 
of Nuevo Leon, he captured that city. Saltillo, the capital 
of Coahuila, was occupied by the United States troops on 
November i6th, and Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, 
December 29th. 

It had long before this become a most important ques- 
tion whether the campaign should be confined to the 
occupation and cutting-off of northern Mexico, or whether 
the army should be pushed on toward the city of Mexico. 
Taylor recommended the first of these two plans; but 
when asked his advice as to what should be done further, 
and especially whether an expedition should be aimed at 
the city of Mexico from near Vera Cruz, he had been 
hesitating and non-committal in his answer.^ Orders 
issued direct from Washington, September 22, 1846, in 



^ House Exec. Docs., 30 Cong., i Sess., VII, No. 60, pp. 324, 
353, especially Taylor to Adjutant-General, July 2, 1846, ibid., 
pp. 329-332; of. Polk, MS. Diary, September 15, 1846. 

193 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

connection with the scheme before it was fully developed, 
to General Patterson, one of Taylor's subordinates, drew 
from Taylor himself a resentful protest.^ Finally the 
plan of capturing Vera Cruz and marching thence upon 
the city of Mexico was adopted by Polk and his cabinet^ 
with a little objection from Buchanan as to advancing 
beyond Vera Cruz,^ and Scott was elected to lead the 
expedition. Soon after his appointment, he left Wash- 
ington, and about the end of December he reached Mata- 
moras and began to make preparations for the attack on 
Vera Cruz. Part of Taylor's men were drawn away for 
the southern campaign, and renewed complaints from him 
were added to the general chorus of discord and dissatis- 
faction.^ 

Information of the shifting of the attack to the south 
reached Santa Anna through intercepted despatches, and 
he at once conceived the project of a counter-stroke. 
Advancing northward with an army of more than twenty 
thousand men, he came upon Taylor February 23, 1847, 
with only about one-fourth that number at Buena Vista, 
a few miles south of Saltillo. The American troops gained 
a brilliant victory,* and with this the serious work of the 
''army of occupation" was at an end. 

Attention was now centred on the southern campaign. 
During the month of February, 1847, Scott's troops were 
conveyed by sea from Brazos Santiago and concentrated 
on the island of Lobos, about sixty miles south of Tampico. 
On March 9th a landing was made without opposition near 
Vera Cruz. With the co-operation of the naval forces 
under Commodore Conner the city was invested, and, 

^ Taylor to Adjutant-General, October 15, 1846, in House Exec. 
Docs., 30 Cong., I Sess., VII, No. 60, pp. 351-354. 

^ Polk, MS. Diary, November 14, 1846. 

3 Taylor to Adjutant-General, January 27, 1847, i^ House Exec. 
Docs., 30 Cong., I Sess., VII, No. 60, pp. 1100-1102. 

* Taylor to Adjutant-General, March 6, 1847, i^ Senate Docs., 
30 Cong., I Sess., I, No. i, pp. 132-141. 

194 




GENERAL SCOTT S ENTRY INTO THE CITY OF MEXICO 

(From a print of the time) 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 

after a brief siege culminating in a sharp bombardment, 
was captured, March 29, 1847/ 

Next in order was the advance upon the city of Mexico, 
which began April 8th. The first resistance was met at 
Cerro Gordo, where, on April 17th and i8th, Scott's army 




of not more than nine thousand drove thirteen thousand 
Mexicans, in disastrous defeat, from a naturally strong 
and well-fortified posit on. Finally there was a series of 
battles near the city of Mexico, which culminated in its 
capture, and which will be referred to further on. 

Meanwhile another eifort was made by Polk to negotiate, 
an idea which even after the failure of the Slidell mission 
had been kept steadily in view. 

In answer to the proposition to negotiate which came 
through Trist, the American commissioner, Santa Anna 
contrived to intimate that, if he were paid ten thousand 
dollars down and one million on the conclusion of peace, 
negotiations should begin at once. After consulting with 
several of his officers, in a conference held late in July 
or early in August, Scott paid the ten thousand dollars.^ 
Still no step was taken by the Mexicans toward negotia- 
tion imtil they were beaten in the engagements at Con- 
treras, August 19th and 20th, and Churubusco, August 
20, 1847. Then Scott himself proposed an armistice, 



^ Scott to Marcy, March 29, 1847, '^btd., 229. 
2 Ripley, War with Mexico, II, 153-155; Polk, MS. Diary, 
December 28, 1847. 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

which was accepted August 24th. Commissioners were 
appointed to meet Trist, and the effort to conclude a 
treaty began. Whether it could have been accomplished 
at that stage of the "conquering" on the basis of his in- 
structions is uncertain; but Trist 's wavering attitude un- 
doubtedly served to make the possibility much less. The 
Mexican commissioners still refused to come to terms, and 
submitted counter-propositions which were in conflict 
with those instructions, but which Trist referred to the 
authorities at Washington.^ As soon as imofficial news of 
what Trist had done was received there. President Polk, 
without waiting to hear from him directly, ordered his recall.^ 

In the mean time the armistice had been terminated and 
the advance of the United States troops renewed. The 
victories of Molino del Rey, September 8th, and Chapul- 
tepec, September 13th, opened the way to the city of 
Mexico, which was occupied on September i4th.^ Santa 
Anna abdicated, and on November 2 2d the new govern- 
ment annoimced to Trist that it had appointed com- 
missioners to negotiate. Trist had already received the 
letter recalling him; but, in spite of this fact, he listened 
to the suggestion of the Mexicans that they were not of- 
ficially notified of his recall, and were anxious to negotiate 
on the terms of his original instructions. 

The negotiations terminated with the treaty of Gua- 
dalupe-Hidalgo, signed February 2, 1848. The boundary 
agreed upon was to follow the Rio Grande from its mouth 
to the line of New Mexico; that line westward and north- 
ward to the first branch of the Gila it should cross; that 
branch and the Gila to the Colorado ; and the line between 
Upper and Lower California thence to the Pacific.^ For 

* Senate Docs., 30 Cong., i Sess., VII, No. 52, p. 345. 

2 Buchanan to Trist, October 6, 1847, ibid., pp. 91-93; Polk, 
MS. Diary, October 5, 1847. 

^ See official reports of these operations, in Senate Docs., 30 
Cong., I Sess., I, No. i, pp. 354-471. 

* U. S. Treaties and Conventions, 683. 

196 



THE RUPTURE WITH MEXICO 

the territory thus ceded by Mexico the United States was 
to satisfy the claims of its citizens on the Mexican gov- 
ernment, and to pay in addition thereto fifteen milUon 
dollars. In spite of the fact that Trist's authority had 
been withdrawn before the final negotiations, President 
Polk submitted the treaty to the Senate, and after some 
opposition and suspense it was ratified, March lo, 1848, 
by a vote of s^ to 14. 



XIII 
THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA (1847) 

AFTER Taylor's capture of Monterey, the stronghold of 
f\ northern Mexico, an armistice terminated hostilities 
till November 1 3th, 1846. By that time Santa Anna — who 
had returned to Mexico — had mustered a powerful army 
at San Luis Potosi, and was expected to march against 
Monterey. Taylor, intending to act on the defensive only, 
proposed to occupy a line stretching from Saltillo to Tam- 
pico, which fort had been evacuated by the Mexicans ; and, 
in pursuance of this plan, marched on Saltillo and Victoria, 
and occupied them without resistance. His plans were 
frustrated by a requisition from General Scott depriving 
him of Worth and Twiggs' divisions of regulars. Thus 
reduced to a force of some five thousand men — all of 
whom, except a few dragoons and artillery, were volunteers 
— Taylor was compelled to abandon his projected line, 
and to content himself with one stretching from Saltillo 
to the mouth of the Rio Grande. December, January, 
and part of February were spent by the army in await- 
ing the Mexican attack. It w^as known that Santa Anna 
would advance from San Luis to expel the invaders; his 
force was fairly estimated, and the wide disparity, in point 
of numbers, between the two armies was not concealed 
from the troops. Yet there was no thought of retreating; 
on the contrary, when Taylor determined to advance south- 
ward from Saltillo, and to occupy Agua Nueva, eighteen 
miles nearer the foe, the whole army marched in high 
spirits. It was subsequently found that the force imder 
Taylor — including Wool's division, which had joined the 

198 



THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

main army — was too small to hold Agua Nueva, and a 
retrograde movement was ordered to the pass of La 
Angostura, a narrow defile near the hacienda of Buena 
Vista. There the army awaited Santa Anna's approach. 

It was on February 2 2d — Washington's birthday — that 
the Mexican advance made its appearance, rolling before 
it clouds of dust. It had suffered dreadfully on the road 
from San Luis from cold and want of supplies; but, allow- 
ing for these sources of loss, the army led by Santa Anna 
cannot have numbered less than twenty thousand men, 
including four thousand cavalry and twenty pieces of 
artillery ; and the sufferings of the march made the soldiers 
all the more eager for the battle. Disappointed in not 
finding Taylor at Agua Nueva, as he had expected, Santa 
Anna proclaimed that he had fled, and ordered the cavalry 
in pursuit. The Mexicans had already had one experience 
of Taylor's flights — a second was at hand. When the 
lancers reached the Angostura, they found the pass guarded 
by Washington's battery of eight pieces, and very properly 
halted. The correspondence, since so famous, between 
the two generals then took place; and on receipt of Tay- 
lor's laconic letter Santa Anna commenced the attack. 

The advantage of position was all on the side of the 
United States army. The pass itself was so narrow that 
Washington's battery could guard it against almost any 
force; impassable gullies and ravines flanked it on the 
west, and on the east the mountains gradually rose to a 
height of some two thousand feet. The only spot on 
which a regular battle could be fought was a plateau on 
the east of the pass, which stretched from the precipitous 
mountain-slope nearly to the road, terminating on that 
side in several ridges and ravines. This plateau gained, 
the pass might have been turned; and accordingly Santa 
Anna's first thought was to master it. A strong body of 
light infantry was despatched, in the afternoon of the 2 2d, 
to climb the motmtain-side which commanded the plateau; 
but the moment the manoeuvre was perceived a party of 

199 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Taylor's riflemen ascended the opposite ridge to keep them 
in check. The Mexicans opened fire, and the Kentuckians 
repHed; and thus, as each body strove to overtop the 
other, both ridges were soon covered with smoke. Foiled 
in his object, Santa Anna awaited the morning to com- 
mence operations in earnest ; and Taylor, fearing an attack 
on Saltillo, set out to complete the defences of that point 
during the night. 

At two o'clock in the morning the American pickets were 
driven in, and at break of day the Mexican light infantry, 
on the ridge above the plateau, led by General Ampudia, 
commenced charging down into the ravine which separated 
them from the Kentuckians. They had received rein- 
forcements during the night, and were at least eight to 
one. Fortimately, General Wool had anticipated the 
movement, and Lieutenant O'Brien was ready at the foot 
of the hill with a piece of cannon. A very few discharges, 
well-aimed, sent the Mexicans back to cover. Then the 
main army advanced; two columns, tmder Pacheco and 
Lombardini, supported by lancers and a twelve-pounder 
battery in the rear, marching directly toward the plateau, 
and a third moving against the pass. Wool had disposed 
the army almost in a line across the plateau from the pass 
to the mountain : Washington's battery being on the right, 
and O'Brien's on the left wing, the infantry and a squadron 
of dragoons in the centre, and the volimteer cavalry in- 
clined slightly to the rear on the right and left. About 
nine in the morning Pacheco 's column debouched from a 
ravine and began to form coolly on a ridge of the plateau. 
General Lane hastened forward, skirting the mountains 
with the Second Indiana volunteers and O'Brien's battery, 
to meet them. At two hundred yards O'Brien opened 
with terrific effect; the close columns of the Mexicans 
were ploughed by his shot. But the reply was steady and 
almost equally effective. Raked on the left by the twelve- 
pounder battery, and assailed by a storm of bullets from 
the masses rising out of the ravine, the volunteers fell 



THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

thickly roiind their colors, and, after some minutes, the 
Indiana volunteers could stand it no longer, and fled in 
spite of Lane's efforts to rally them.^ O'Brien was left 
almost alone with his guns. He fired one last discharge, 
then, hastily limbering up, followed the flying infantry over 
the plateau. 

It was an almost fatal movement; for, Lombardini 
gaining the southern edge of the plateau at that moment, 
the two Mexican columns united, and the lancers, who 
swarmed on the flanks, galloped down on the volunteers. 
To add to the danger, the Indiana regiment in its flight 
became entangled with the Arkansas volunteers, who 
caught the panic and fled likewise. Their loss in a fight 
where the enemy w^as over four to one was severely felt. 
However, nothing daunted, the Second Illinois, under 
Colonel Bissell, received the Mexican fire, and returned 
it as fast as the men could load. The dragoons, who 
could do no service in such a conflict, were sent to the 
rear; but a couple of guns, under Trench and Thomas, 
were brought to bear, and every shot cut like a knife 
through the Mexican columns. Still, it was impossible 
for such a handful of men to check an army of thou- 
sands: the enemy poured down the plateau, and, passing 
between the mountain and the Illinoisans, turned our left 
and poured in a flank as well as a front fire. Eighty men 
having fallen in twenty minutes. Colonel Bissell gave the 
word of command to face to the rear, and the gallant regi- 
ment, as cool as if on drill, faced about, marched deliber- 
ately a few yards toward the ravine — Churchill walking 
his horse before them — then turned and resumed firing. 

Meanwhile the lancers were driving the Indiana and 
Arkansas volunteers off the plateau, and cutting off the 
riflemen in the mountain from the main army. These, 
perceiving the danger, and trusting that the lancers would 

^ Gen. Lew Wallace, who reached Buena Vista two days after 
the battle, furnishes a vigorous defence of the Indiana volunteers 
in his Autobiography, vol. I, chaps, xviii and xix. — [Editor.] 

20I 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

be checked by the Arkansas and Kentucky cavalry, tow- 
ard which they were approaching, abandoned their posi- 
tion and came riinning down the mountain-side, with a 
view of cutting their way back to the batteries. But the 
mounted volunteers made but a brief stand against the 
impetuous charge of the lancers, and Arripudia's light in- 
fantry no sooner saw the riflemen move than they followed 
close on their heels, firing as they went. The slaughter 
of our poor fellows was dreadful; the Texans were anni- 
hilated. In one confused mass, riflemen and volunteer 
cavalry, Arkansans and Kentuckians were driven back 
by the advancing columns of the enemy, and Httle was 
wanted to complete the rout. Vainly did the officers try 
to rally the fugitives. No sooner had a handful of men 
been persuaded to halt and turn than a volley from the 
Mexicans scattered them. Thus fell Captain Lincoln — a 
chivalrous spirit, who was struck to the earth by two balls 
in the act of cheering on a small party of Kentuckians to 
hold their ground. 

At this perilous moment the rattle of musketry was 
drowned by a tremendous roar pf cannon in the direction 
of the- pass. The Mexicans under Villamil had approached 
within range, and Captain Washington, who had sworn to 
hold the pass against any odds, was keeping his word. 
The gunners had been wild with ardor and suspense all 
morning; they were now gratified, and, though three gims 
had been taken from the battery, they poured such a mur- 
derous fire upon Villamil 's column as it approached through 
the narrow pass that, after wavering a moment, it scat- 
tered, and most of the men sought refuge in the ravines. 
The moment they broke the Second Illinoisans, who had 
been stationed at the pass, eagerly followed their colonel, 
Hardin, to the plateau, to share the dangers of their com- 
rades. Almost as soon McKee's Kentuckians and Bragg's 
battery came plunging through the gullies on the west of 
the pass and joined them; while Sherman's guns were 
speedily brought up from the rear. Thus the First Illi- 

202 



THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

noisans were saved, and grape and canister mowed down 
the Mexican masses at the foot of the moimtain. 

Still, the light infantry under Ampudia were pressing 
on by the left to the rear of Wool's position. In half an 
hour the pass might have been turned. Most providential- 
ly at that moment Taylor arrived with Davis' Mississippi 
riflemen and May's dragoons. The former barely stopped 
an instant for the men to fill their canteens, then hastened 
to the field. Boiling with rage, Davis called on the In- 
diana volunteers to form "behind that wall," pointing to 
his men, and advance against their enemy. Their colonel, 
Bowles, the tears streaming down his face, finding all his 
appeals fruitless, seized a musket and joined the Mis- 
sissippians as a private. Time could not be lost; Am- 
pudia was close upon them; Davis formed and advanced 
with steady tread against a body more than five times his 
strength. A rain of balls poured upon the Mississippians, 
but no man pulled a trigger till sure of his mark. Then 
those deadly rifles blazed and stimned the Mexican ad- 
vance. A ravine separated them from the enemy; Davis 
gave the word, and, with a cheer, down they rushed and 
up the other side; then forming hastily, with one awful 
volley they shattered the Mexican head and drove them 
back to cover. 

But the cavalry had crept roimd the moimtain and 
were descending on the hacienda. They were Torrejon's 
brigade, splendid fellows, mostly lancers, and brimful of 
fight. Opposed to them were Yell's Arkansas and Mar- 
shall's Kentucky mounted volunteers — less than half their 
mmiber. Hopelessly these brave fellows stood, firing their 
carbines as the foe approached; but the last man was still 
taking aim when the lancers were upon them like a whirl- 
wind. The brave Yell was dashed to the earth a corpse, 
and Lieutenant Vaughan fell from his horse, pierced by 
twenty-four wounds. Huddled together in a confused 
mass, Mexicans and Americans dashed side by side toward 
the hacienda, engaged in a death-struggle as they galloped 

203 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

onward, and enveloped in a cloud of dust. One tall 
Mexican was seen, mounted upon a powerful horse, spear- 
ing every one that came within reach, in the drunkenness 
of battle; while here and there a Kentuckian, with native 
coolness, loaded as he rode, and brought down man after 
man. In less time than it takes to read these lines the 
horses' hoofs were rattling over the streets, shrieks and 
shouts heralding their approach. Amid the din, the 
crack of rifles from the roofs of the houses told that the 
little garrison were holding their own. Through and 
through the hacienda the Mexicans swept, disengaging 
themselves from the volunteers just in time to escape a 
charge from May's dragoons, which came clattering down 
the ravine to the rescue.. Reynolds followed with two 
pieces of flying artillery, and Torre j on himself, badly 
wounded and minus several of his best men, was glad to 
escape to the mountains. 

Meanwhile Major Dix had snatched the colors of the 
Second Indiana volunteers from the hands of their bearer, 
and bitterly swore that, with God's help, that standard 
should not be disgraced that day. "He would bear it 
alone," he said, "into the thick of the fight." Roused by 
his words, a few men rallied around him and joined the 
Mississippi rifles on the plateau. The gallant Third In- 
diana were there, and Sherman had brought up a howitzer. 
Enraged at the failure of the attack on the hacienda, a 
fresh body of lancers now charged these troops, advanc- 
ing in close column, knee to knee, and lance in rest. In 
breathless haste the volunteers were thrown across the 
narrow ridge, in two lines, meeting at an angle near the 
centre. Not a whisper broke the silence as the Mexicans 
approached, and the intrepid bearing of men whom noth- 
ing could have saved from destruction if the charge had 
been vigorous appalled the lancers. Within eighty yards 
of the lines they actually halted. At that instant the 
rifles were raised: a second — an awful second — elapsed. 
Then "Fire!" and a blaze ran round the angle. The 

204 



THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

Mexican column was destroyed. Horses and men writhed 
on the plain. The rear rank stood for a moment, but a 
single discharge from the howitzer scattered them too, 
and they fell back. For the first time during the day 
fortune seemed to favor the Americans. Hemmed in 
on two sides, and driven to the base of the mountain, 
five thousand Mexicans, horse and foot, with Ampudia's 
division, were being slaughtered by nine guns, which 
never slackened fire. Their fate was certain ; when a flag 
of truce from Santa Anna induced Taylor to silence his 
batteries. It was only a ruse. Santa Anna asked, " What 
does General Taylor want?" Before the answer reached 
him, the Mexicans had made good their escape to the rear. 
Notv/ithstanding the parley, one Mexican battery con- 
tinued its fire upon our troops. This was the eighteen 
and twenty-four pounder battery of the battalion of San 
Patricio, composed of Irishmen, deserters from our ranks', 
and commanded by an Irishman named Riley. Harassed 
by this fire, and perceiving the enemy's treachery, Taylor 
sent the Illinoisans and Kentuckians, with three pieces 
of artillery, in pursuit of Ampudia. They hurried for- 
ward along the heads of the ravines; but to their horror, 
as they neared the southern edge of the plateau, an over- 
whelming force of over ten thousand men, comprising 
the whole of Santa Anna's reserve, emerged from below 
and deployed before their firing. To resist was madness. 
The volunteers discharged their pieces and rushed pre- 
cipitately into the nearest gorge. Its sides were steep, 
and many rolled headlong to the bottom. Others were 
massacred by a shower of bullets poured from Mexicans 
who clustered on both ridges above. In the midst of 
the carnage, Hardin, McKee, and many other brave offi- 
cers fell, vainly trying to seek an exit for their troops. 
At the mouth of the ravine a squadron of lancers were 
ready to cut off their escape. Down the sides poured 
the Mexican infantry, slaughtering the wounded with 
the bayonet and driving the helpless mass before them. 

205 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Above, pale as death, with compressed lips, O'Brien and 
Thomas stood to their deserted pieces. Once before that 
morning the Mexican shot had left the former alone at 
his gun ; for the second time the fortune of the day seemed 
to depend on his single exertions. If he could hold the 
enemy at bay for a few minutes, there would be time for 
other batteries to come up. Ball after ball tore ragged 
gaps through the advancing host. After each discharge 
O'Brien fell back just far enough to load and fire again, 
praying in an agony that help might come. He was 
wounded himself; all his men were killed or wounded; 
but he never flinched before the surging wave of Mexicans 
imtil the clack of whips and the rattle of wheels were 
heard behind him. Then — for he knew it was Bragg 
urging onward his jaded horses — the brave fellow aimed 
one deadly volley of canister and abandoned his piece. 
The next moment Bragg unlimbered and opened a telling 
fire. Sherman followed, and, Davis and Lane coming up 
at a run, the crack of rifles was heard away to the extreme 
left. On the right, the well-known roar of Washington's 
guns startled the foe. It was the death-warrant of the 
lancers, who were penning our volunteers in the ravine. 
Out came the remnant, leaving crowds of dead, and not 
one man wounded, in the horrid trap, and hastily scaled 
the side of the plateau. Taylor was there, coolly picking 
the balls out of his dress, and Wool rode wildly backward 
and forward, urging on the rear ranks. But it was need- 
less. At Bragg's third discharge the whole body of the 
Mexicans broke and dashed pell-mell into the ravine 
whence they had come. 

This was the last of the battle. Davis and Bragg fol- 
lowed the enemy a short distance; but the San Patricio 
battery still commanded the southern edge of the pla- 
teau, and the troops were so fagged that they could hardly 
walk. Night was coming on, and the firing ceased. The 
men lay down where they stood; and a few, overcome by 
fatigue, slept side by side with the dead and the wounded. 

206 



THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

It was a dark, gloomy night, and a bitter wind swept 
from the mountain. Not far in the distance the wolf's 
howl broke dismally on the ear, and the vultures flapped 
their wings overhead. Nothing was known of the Mexican 
army; no one could say what the morrow might bring 
forth. With anxious eye the officers looked for the dawn. 
It came at last; and to their inexpressible delight the 
first streaks of light in the eastern sky revealed a deserted 
camp. The Mexicans had fled. An army of over twenty 
thousand men, comprising the flower of the Mexican 
troops, had been beaten by forty-six hundred Americans, 
over four thousand of whom were raw volunteers. Such 
a cheer as rose from the pass of Angostura on that Feb- 
ruary morning never before or since re-echoed through 
the dark gorges of the Sierra Madre. 



XIV 
SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO, 1847 

NORTHERN MEXICO lay helpless at Taylor's feet. 
The stars and stripes floated over the citadel of 
Monterey, and the flower of the Mexican army, com- 
manded by their greatest general, had been repulsed at 
Buena Vista. Nothing now remained but to strike a 
blow at the vitals of the southern republic. That task 
had been imposed on General Scott, whose skill and ex- 
perience designated him as the proper man to conduct a 
campaign in which the fate of the war was to be decided. 

On March 6, 1847, the fleet of transports and men-of- 
war was concentrated near Vera Cruz. It bore a small 
but well-disciplined force of some twelve thousand men, 
comprising the whole standing army of the United States 
— four regiments of artillery, eight of infantry, one of 
mounted riflemen, and detachments of dragoons — be- 
sides eight volunteer regiments of foot and one of horse. 
Major-General Scott commanded the whole, w4th Worth, 
fresh from the brilliant capture of Monterey, Twiggs, and 
the volunteer Patterson as his brigadiers. Under the 
latter served Generals Quitman, Pillow, and Shields. 

Vera Cruz was the strongest place on this continent, 
after Quebec. Situated on the border of the Gulf, it was 
surrounded by a line of bastions and redans, terminating 
at either extremity in a fort of large capacity. A sandy 
plain encircled it on the land side, affording no protection 
to an assailant within seven hundred yards of the walls; 
and toward the sea, on a reef at a distance of rather more 
than half a mile, the famous fort of San Juan d'Ulloa 
commanded the harbor. In March, 1847, the city 

208 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

mounted nearly ninety, the castle one hundred and 
twenty-eight guns of various calibers, including several 
thirteen-inch mortars and ten-inch Paixhans. So im- 
pHcit was the faith of the Mexicans in the strength of the 
place that, having rendered it, as they believed, im- 
pregnable, they left its defence to a garrison of five thou- 
sand men, and bade them remember that the city was 
named Vera Cruz the Invincible. This was the first mis- 
take of the enemy; a second was omitting to provision 
the place for a siege; a third was allowing women, chil- 
dren, and non-combatants to remain in the town. In 
this instance, as in so many others, the overweening as- 
surance of the Mexicans was the cause of their ruin. 
Monterey and Buena Vista should have taught them to 
know better. 

The American troops began to land on March 9, 1847, 
and by the 12th a line of troops five miles long surrounded 
Vera Cruz. On the 2 2d the bombardment was begun, 
and on the 26th, without an assault, the Mexicans began 
negotiations for a surrender, which took place three days 
afterward. 

CERRO GORDO 

On April 8th the army, headed by Twiggs' division, 
moved forward on the national road toward the city 
of Mexico. At the mountain - pass of Cerro Gordo the 
Mexicans, under Santa Anna, had made a stand. They 
had planted batteries to command all the level ground, 
and behind them were some twelve thousand infantry 
and cavalry. The fighting began on the 17th with an 
attack by Twiggs on the Mexican left, which resulted 
in driving back the Mexicans, and in the capture of a 
strong position on a hill called Atalaya, where some 
cannon were mounted in the night. The next day the 
desperate assaults of Harney and Riley stormed the 
redoubts on the crest of Cerro Gordo, and Riley and 

209 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Shields charged and captured the Mexican batteries on 
the road. On the left Pillow was less successful, but 
the guns of Cerro Gordo were turned against the Mexicans, 
who, seeing the defeat of Santa Anna, hoisted a white 
flag. Three thousand men, including five generals, 
surrendered to General Scott, and over a thousand were 
killed or wounded. Of the American force of eighty- 
five hundred, sixty- three were killed and three hundred 
and sixty-eight wounded. 

The unopposed seizure of the castle of La Hoya, and 
the occupation of the towns of Perote and Puebla were 
followed by a delay due to the necessity of waiting for 
reinforcements to replace the three thousand volunteers 
whose time had expired. 

Reinforcements arrived but slowly, and each detach- 
ment, as it moved from Vera Cruz to the mountains, had 
to sustain a running fight with the guerrillas whom 
Santa Anna had let loose on the road. All arrived, how- 
ever, in safety, and by the beginning of August General 
Scott was ready to move on the valley of Mexico with 
ten thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight men, leaving 
Colonel Childs with fourteen hundred to garrison Puebla. 
On the third day they stood upon the summit of the 
ridge which looks down upon the valley of Mexico, with 
the city itself glittering in the centre, and bright lakes, 
grim forts, and busy causeways dotting the dark expanse 
of marsh and lava. That night the troops encamped at 
the foot of the mountains and within the valley on the 
border of Lake Chalco. 

With the energy which characterized Santa Anna 
throughout the war, he had prepared for a desperate 
defence. Civil strife had been silenced, funds raised, an 
army of twenty-five thousand men mustered, and every 
precaution taken which genius could suggest or science 
indicate. Nature had done much for him. Directly in 
front of the invading. army lay the large lakes of Xochi- 
milco and Chalco. These turned, vast marshes, inter- 

2IO 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

sected by ditches and for the most part impassable, sur- 
rounded the city on the east and south — on which side 
Scott was advancing — for several miles. The only ap- 
proaches were by causeways, and these Santa Anna had 
taken prodigious pains to guard. The national road to 
Vera Cruz — which Scott must have taken had he marched 
on the north side of the lakes — was commanded by a fort 
mounting fifty-one guns on an impregnable hill called El 
Penon. Did he turn the southern side of the lakes, a 
field of lava, deemed almost impassable for troops, inter- 
posed a primary obstacle, and fortified positions at San 
Antonio, San Angel, and Churubusco, with an intrenched 
camp at Contreras, were likewise to be surmounted be- 
fore the southern causeways could be reached. Beyond 
these there yet remained the formidable castle of Chapul- 
tepec and the strong enclosure of Molino del Rey to be 
stormed before the city gates could be reached. Power- 
ful batteries had been mounted at all these points, and 
ample garrisons detailed to serve them. The bone and 
muscle of Mexico were there. Goaded by defeat, Santa 
Anna never showed so much vigor; ambition fired Va- 
lencia; patriotism stirred the soul of Alvarez; Canalejo, 
maddened by the odium into which he had fallen, was 
boiling to regain his sobriquet of "The Lion of Mexico." 
With a constancy equal to anything recorded of the 
Roman Senate, the Mexican Congress, on learning the 
defeat at'Cerro Gordo, had voted unanimously that any 
one opening negotiations with the enemy should be 
deemed a traitor, and the citizens with one accord had 
ratified the vote. Within six months Mexico had lost 
two splendid armies in two pitched battles against the 
troops now advancing against the capital; but she never 
lost heart. 

CONTRERAS 

When the engineers reported that the fortress on El 
Penon could not be carried without a loss of one-third the 

an 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

army, Scott decided to move by the south of the lakes; 
and Worth accordingly advanced, leading the van, as 
far as San Augustin, nine miles from the city of Mexico. 
There a large field of lava — known as the Pedregal — 
barred the way. On the one side, a couple of miles from 
San Augustin, the fortified works at San Antonio com- 
manded the passage between the field and the lake; on 
the other the ground was so much broken that infantry 
alone could advance, and General Valencia occupied an 
intrenched camp, with a heavy battery, near the village 
of Contreras, three miles distant. Scott determined to 
attack on both sides, and sent forward Worth on the east 
and Pillow and Twiggs on the west. The latter advanced 
as fast as possible over the masses of lava on the morning 
of the 19th, and by 2 p.m. a couple of light batteries were 
placed in position and opened fire on the Mexican camp. 
At the same time, General Persifer Smith conceived 
the plan of turning Valencia's left, and hastened along 
the path through the Pedregal in the direction of a vil- 
lage called San Jeronimo. Colonel Riley followed. Pillow 
sent Cadwalader's brigade on the same line, and later in 
the day Morgan's regiment was likewise despatched tow- 
ard that point. They drove in the Mexican pickets and 
skirmishers, dispersed a few parties of lancers, and oc- 
cupied the village without loss. Seeing the movement, 
Santa Anna hastened to Valencia's support with twelve 
thousand men. He was discovered by Cadwalader just 
as the latter gained the village road; and, appreciating 
the vast importance of preventing a junction between 
the two Mexican generals, that gallant officer did not 
hesitate to draw up his brigade in order of battle. So 
broken was the ground that Santa Anna could not see 
the amount of force opposed to him, and declined the 
combat. This was all Cadwalader wanted. Shields' 
brigade was advancing through the Pedregal, and the 
troops which had already crossed were rapidly moving to 
the rear of Valencia's camp. Night, too, was close at 

212 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

hand. When it fell, Smith's, Riley's, a,nd Cadwalader's 
commands had gained the point they sought. Shields 
joined them at ten o'clock; and at midnight Captain Lee 
crossed the Pedregal, with a message from General Smith 
to General Scott, to say that he would commence the 
attack at daybreak next morning. 

It rained all night, and the men lay in the mud with- 
out fires. At three in the morning (August 20th) the 
word was passed to march. Such pitchy darkness cov- 
ered the face of the plain that Smith ordered every man 
to touch his front file as he marched. Now and then a 
flash of lightning lit up the narrow ravine; occasionally 
a straggling moonbeam pierced the clouds and shed an 
uncertain glimmer on the heights; but these flitting 
guides only served to make the darkness seem darker. 
The soldiers groped their way, stumbling over stones and 
brushwood, and did not gain the rear of the camp till day 
broke. Then Riley bade his men look to the priming of 
their guns and reload those which the rain had wet. 
With the first ray of daylight the firing had recommenced 
between the Mexican camp and Ransom's corps stationed 
in front and Shields' brigade at San Jeronimo. Almost 
at the same moment Riley began to ascend the height 
in the rear. Before he reached the crest, his engineers, 
who had gone forward to reconnoitre, came running back 
to say that his advance had been detected, that two 
guns were being pointed against him, and a body of in- 
fantry were sallying from the camp. The news braced 
the men's nerves. They gained the ridge, and stood a 
tremendous volley from the Mexicans without flinching. 
Poor Hanson of the Seventh — a gallant officer and an 
excellent man — was shot down with many others; but 
the Mexicans had done their worst. With steady aim, 
the volley was returned; and ere the smoke rose a cheer 
rang through the ravine and Riley fell with a swoop on 
the intrenchments. With bayonet and butt of musket, 
the Second and Seventh drove the enemy from his guns, 

213 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

leaping into his camp and slaughtering all before them. 
Up rushed Smith's own brigade on the left, driving a 
party of Mexicans before them, and charging with the 
bayonet straight at Torrejon's cavalry, which was drawn 
up in order of battle. Defeat was marked on their faces. 
Valencia was nowhere to be found. Salas strove vainly 
to rouse his men to defend themselves with energy; Tor- 
rejon's horse, smitten with panic, broke and fled at the 
advance of our infantry. Riley hurled the Mexicans 
from their camp after a struggle of a quarter of an hour; 
and as they rushed down the ravine their own cavalry 
rode over them, trampling down more men than the 
bayonet and ball had laid low. On the right, as they 
fled, Cadwalader's brigade poured in a destructive vol- 
ley; and Shields, throwing his party across the road, 
obstructed their retreat and compelled the fugitives to 
yield themselves prisoners of war; The only fight of any 
moment had taken place within the camp. There, for 
a few minutes, the Mexicans had fought desperately; 
two of our regimental colors had been shot down; but 
finally Anglo-Saxon bone and sinew had triumphed. To 
the delight of the assailants, the first prize of victory 
was the guns O'Brien had abandoned at Buena Vista, 
which were regained by his own regiment. Twenty 
other guns and over one thousand prisoners, including 
eighty-eight officers and four generals, were likewise cap- 
tured, and some fifteen hundred Mexicans killed and 
wounded. The American loss in killed, wounded, and 
missing was about one hundred men. 

Barely taking time to breathe his troops, ' Smith fol- 
lowed in pursuit toward the city. By ten o'clock in the 
morning he reached San Angel, which Santa Anna 
evacuated as he approached. The general-in-chief and 
the generals of division had by this time relieved Smith 
of his command; Scott rode to the front, and in a few 
brief words told the men there was more work to be done 
that day. A loud cheer from the ranks was the reply. 

214 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

The whole force then advanced to Coyacan, within a mile 
of Churubusco, and prepared to assault the place. 



CIIURUBUSCO 

Santa Anna considered it the key to the city, and 
awaited the attack in perfect confidence with thirty 
thousand men. The defences were of a very simple de- 
scription. On the west, in the direction of Coyacan, stood 
the large stone convent of San Pablo, in which seven heavy 
guns were mounted, and which, as well as the wall and 
breastworks in front, was filled with infantry. A breast- 
work connected San Pablo with the tete de pont over the 
Churubusco River, four hundred yards distant. This was 
the easternmost point of defence, and formed part of the 
San Antonio causeway leading to the city. It was a 
work constructed with the greatest skill — bastions, cur- 
tain, and wet ditch, everything was complete and perfect 
— four guns were mounted in embrasure and barbette, 
and as many men as the place would hold were stationed 
there. The reserves occupied the causeway behind Chur- 
ubusco. Independently of his defences, Santa Anna's 
numbers — nearly five to one — ought to have insured the 
repulse of the assailants. 

By eleven — hardly seven hours having elapsed since 
the Contreras camp had been stormed, five miles away — 
Twiggs and Pillow were in motion toward the San An- 
tonio causeway. Nothing had been heard of Worth, 
who had been directed to move along the east side of the 
Pedregal on San Antonio; but it was taken for granted 
he had carried the point, and Scott wished to cut off the 
retreat of the garrison. Twiggs was advancing cautiously 
toward the convent, when a heavy firing was heard in 
advance. Supposing that a reconnoitring party had 
been attacked, he hastily sent forw^ard the First Artil- 
lery, under Dimmick, through a field of tall corn, to sup- 
port them. No sooner had they separated from the main 

215 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

body than a terrific discharge of grape, canister, and 
musketry assailed them from the convent. In the teeth 
of the storm they advanced to within one hundred yards 
of that building, and a light battery under Taylor was 
brought up on their right and opened on "the convent. 
Over an hour the gunners stood firm to their pieces under 
a fire as terrible as troops ever endured; one-third of the 
command had fallen before they were withdrawn. Colonel 
Riley meanwhile, with the stormers of Contreras, had 
been despatched to assail San Pablo on the west, and, 
like Dimmick, was met by a murderous rain of shot. 
Whole heads of companies were mowed down at once. 
Thus Captain Smith fell, twice wounded, with every man 
beside him; and a single discharge from the Mexican 
guns swept down Lieutenant Easley and the section he 
led. It was the second time that day the gallant Second 
had served as targets for the Mexicans, but not a man 
fell back. General Smith ordered up the Third in sup- 
port, and these, protecting themselves as best they could 
behind a few huts, kept up a steady fire on the convent. 
Sallies from the works were constantly made and as 
constantly repulsed, but not a step could the assailants 
make in advance. 

By this time the battle was raging on three different 
points. Worth had marched on San Antonio that morn- 
ing, found it evacuated, and given chase to the Mexicans 
with the Fifth and Sixth Infantry. The causeway lead- 
ing from San Antonio to the tete de pont of Churubusco 
was thronged with flying horse and foot; our troops 
dashed headlong after them, never halting till the ad- 
vance corps — the Sixth — were within short range of the 
Mexican batteries. A tremendous volley from the tete 
de pont in front and the convent on the flank then forced 
them to await the arrival of the rest of the division. This 
was the fire which Twiggs heard when he sent Dimmick 
against the convent. 

Worth came up almost immediately; and, directing 

216 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

the Sixth to advance as best they could along the cause- 
way in the teeth of the tete de pont, despatched Garland 
and Clarke's brigades through the fields on the right to 
attack it in flank. Every gun was instantly directed 
against the assailants; and, though the day was bright 
and clear, the clouds of smoke actually darkened the air. 
Hoffman, waving his sword, cheered on the Sixth; but 
the shot tore and ripped up their ranks to such a degree 
that in a few minutes they had lost ninety-seven men. 
The brigades on the right suffered as severely. One 
hundred men fell within the space of an acre. Still they 
pressed on, till the Eighth (of Clarke's brigade) reached 
the ditch. In they plunged, Lieutenant Longstreet bear- 
ing the colors in advance — scrambled out on the other 
side — dashed at the walls, without ladders or scaling 
implements— bayoneted the defenders as they took aim. 
At last officers and men, mixed pell-mell, some through 
the embrasures, some over the walls, rushed or leaped 
in and drove the garrison helter-skelter upon their re- 
serves. 

The tete de pont gained, its guns were turned on the 
convent, whence the Mexicans were still slaughtering our 
gallant Second and Third. Duncan's battery, too, hither- 
to in reserve, was brought up, and opened with such 
rapidity that a bystander estimated the intervals be- 
tween the reports at three seconds. Stunned by this 
novel attack, the garrison of San Pablo slackened fire. 
In an instant the Third, followed by Dimmick's artillery, 
dashed forward with the bayonet to storm the nearest 
bastion. With a run they carried it, the artillery burst- 
ing over the curtain; but at that moment a dozen white 
flags waved in their faces. The whole fortified position 
of Churubusco was taken. 

Meantime, however, a conflict as deadly as either of 
these was raging behind the Mexican fortifications. Soon 
after the battle commenced, Scott sent Pierce and 
Shields' brigades by the left, through the fields, to at- 

217 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

tack the enemy in the rear. On the causeway, opposed 
to them, were planted Santa Anna's reserves — four 
thousand foot and three thousand horse — in a measure 
protected by a dense growth of maguey. Shields ad- 
vanced intrepidly with his force of sixteen hundred. The 
ground was marshy, and for a long distance — having 
vainly endeavored to outflank the enemy — his advance 
was exposed to their whole fire. Morgan, of the Fifteenth, 
fell wounded. The New York regiment suffered fearfully, 
and their leader. Colonel Burnett, was disabled. The 
Palmettos, of South Carolina, and the Ninth, under Ran- 
som, were as severely cut up ; and after a while all sought 
shelter in and about a large barn near the causeway. 
Shields, in an agony at the failure of his movement, cried 
imploringly for volunteers to follow him. The appeal 
was instantly answered by Colonel Butler, of the Pal- 
mettos: "Every South-Carolinian will follow you to the 
death!" The cry was contagious, and most of the New- 
Yorkers took it up. Forming at angles to the causeway, 
Shields led these brave men, under an incessant hail of 
shot, against the village of Portales, where the Mexican 
reserves were posted. Not a trigger was pulled till they 
stood at a hundred and fifty yards from the enemy. 
Then the little band poured in their volley, fatally an- 
swered by the Mexican host. Butler, already wounded, 
was shot through the head, and died instantly. Calling 
to the Palmettos to avenge his death. Shields gives the 
word to charge. They charge — not four hundred in all — 
over the plain, down upon four thousand Mexicans, 
securely posted under cover. At every step their ranks 
thinned. Dickenson, who succeeded Butler in command 
of the Palmettos, seizes the colors as the bearer falls 
dead; the next moment he is down himself, mortally 
wounded, and Major Gladden snatches them from his 
hand. Adams, Moragne, and nearly half the gallant 
band are prostrate. A very few minutes more, and there 
will be no one left to bear the glorious flag. 

218 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

But at this very moment a deafening roar was heard 
in the direction of the tete de pont. Round - shot and 
grape, rifle -balls and canister came crashing down the 
causeway into the Mexican ranks from their own battery. 
Worth was there just in time. Down the road and over 
the ditch, through the field and hedge and swamp, in 
tumult and panic, the Mexicans fled from the bayonets 
of the Sixth and Garland's brigade. A shout, louder 
than the cannon's peal — Worth was on their heels, with 
his best men. Before Shields reached the causeway he 
was by his side, driving the Mexican horse into their 
infantry, and Ayres was galloping up with a captured 
Mexican gun. Captain Kearny, with a few dragoons, 
rode straight into the flying host, scattered them right 
and left, sabred all he could reach, and halted before 
the gate of Mexico. Not till then did he perceive that he 
was alone with his little party, nearly all of whom were 
wounded; but, in spite of the hundreds of escopetas that 
were levelled at him, he galloped back in safety to head- 
quarters. 

The sun, which rose that morning on a proud army 
and a defiant metropolis, set at even on a shattered, hag- 
gard band and a city full of woe-stricken wretches who 
did nothing all night but quake with terror and cry at 
every noise, "Aqui viene los Yanquies!" All along the 
causeway, and in the fields and swamp on either side, 
heaps of dead men and cattle, intermingled with broken 
ammunition-carts, marked where the American shot had 
told. A gory track leading to the tete de pont, groups of 
dead in the fields on the west of Churubusco, over whose 
pale faces some stalks of tattered corn still waved, red 
blotches in the marsh next the causeway, where the rich 
blood of Carolina and New York soaked the earth, showed 
where the fire of the heavy Mexican guns and the count- 
less escopetas of the infantry had been most murderous. 
Scott had lost, in that day's work, over one thousand men 
in killed and wounded, seventy-nine of whom were officers. 

219 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The Mexican loss, according to Santa Anna, was one-third 
of his army, equal probably to ten thousand men, one- 
fourth of whom were prisoners, the rest killed and wound- 
ed. As the sun went down the troops were recalled to 
headquarters; but all night long the battle-field swarmed 
with straggling parties, seeking some lost comrade in the 
cold and rain, and surgeons hurrying from place to place 
and offering succor to the wounded. 

It would have been easy for Scott to have marched on 
the city that night, or next morning, and seized it before 
the Mexicans recovered the shock of their defeat. Anx- 
ious, however, to shorten the war, and assured that Santa 
Anna was desirous of negotiating; warned, moreover, by- 
neutrals and others that the hostile occupation of the 
capital would destroy the last chance of peaceable ac- 
commodation and rouse the Mexican spirit to resistance 
all over the country, the American general consented, too 
generously perhaps, to offer an armistice to his vanquished 
foe. It was eagerly accepted, and negotiations were 
commenced which lasted over a fortnight. Early in 
September the treachery of the Mexicans became appar- 
ent. No progress had been made in the negotiations; 
and, in defiance of the armistice, an American wagon, 
proceeding to the city for provisions, had been attacked 
by the mob and one man killed and others wounded. 
Scott wrote to Santa Anna, demanding an apology, and 
threatening to terminate the armistice on the 7 th if it 
were not tendered. The reply was insulting in the ex- 
treme; Santa Anna had repaired his losses and was 
ready for another fight. 

MOLINO DEL REY 

On the evening of the 7th of September Worth and his 
officers were gathered in his quarters at Tacubaya. On 
a table lay a hastily sketched map showing the position 
of the fortified works at Molino del Rey, with the Casa 

220 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

Mata on one side and the castle of Chapultepec on the 
other. The Molino was occupied by the enemy; there 
was reason to believe it contained a foundry in full opera- 
tion, and Worth had been directed to storm it next morn- 
ing. Over that table bent Garland and Clarke, eager to 
repeat the glorious deeds of August 20th at the tete de 
pont of Churubusco ; Duncan and Smith, already veterans ; 
Wright, the leader of the forlorn-hope, joyfully thinking 
of the morrow; famous Martin Scott and dauntless 
Graham, little dreaming that a few hours would see their 
livid corpses stretched upon the plain; fierce old Mcin- 
tosh, covered with scars; Worth himself, his manly brow 
clouded and his cheek paled by sickness and anxiety. 
Each officer had his place assigned to him in the conflict ; 
and they parted to seek a few hours' rest. At half-past 
two in the morning of the 8th the division was astir. 
'Twas a bright, starlight night, whose silence was un- 
broken as the troops moved thoughtfully toward the 
battle-field. In front, on the right, about a mile from 
the encampment, the hewn-stone walls of the Molino del 
Rey — a range of buildings five hundred yards long and 
well adapted for defence — were distinctly visible, with 
drowsy lights twinkling through the windows. A little 
farther off, on the left, stood the black pile of the Casa 
Mata, the arsenal, crenelled for musketry and surrounded 
by a quadrangular field-work. Beyond the Casa Mata 
lay a ravine, and from this a ditch and hedge ran, pass- 
ing in front of both works> to the Tacubaya road. Far 
on the right the grim old castle of Chapultepec loomed up 
darkly against the sky. Sleep wrapped the whole Mexican 
line, and but few words were spoken in the American 
ranks as the troops took up their respective positions — 
Garland, with Dunn's battery and Huger's twenty-four- 
pounders, on the right, against the Molino; Wright, at 
the head of the stormers, and followed by the light divi- 
sion, under Captain Kirby Smith, in the centre; Mcintosh, 
with Duncan's battery, on the left, near the ravine, look- 

221 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ing toward the Casa Mata; and Cadwallader, with his 
brigade, in reserve. 

Night still overhung the east when the Mexicans were 
roused from their slumbers by the roar of Huger's twenty- 
four-pounders and the crashing of the balls through the 
roof and walls of the Molino. A shout arose within their 
lines, spreading from the ravine to the castle; lights 
flashed in every direction, bugles sounded, the clank of 
arms rang from right to left, and every man girded him- 
self for the fray. With the first ray of daylight Major 
Wright advanced with the forlorn-hope down the slope. 
A few seconds elapsed; then a sheet of flame burst from 
the batteries, and round-shot, canister, and grape hurtled 
through the air. "Charge!" shouted the leader, and 
down they went, with double-quick step, over the ditch 
and hedge and into the line, sweeping everything before 
them. The Mexicans fell from their guns, but soon, see- 
ing the smallness of the force opposed to them, and re- 
assured by the galling fire poured from the azoteas and 
Molino on the stormers, they rallied, charged furiously, 
and drove our men back into the plain. Here eleven out 
of the fourteen officers of Wright's party and the bulk of 
his men fell killed or wounded. AH of the latter who 
could not fly were bayoneted where they lay by the 
Mexicans. Captain Walker, of the Sixth, badly sfiot, 
was left for dead; he saw the enemy murdering every 
man who showed signs of life, but the agony of thirst 
was so insupportable that he could not resist raising his 
canteen to his lips. A dozen balls instantly tore up the 
ground around him; several Mexicans rushed at him 
with the bayonet, but at that moment the light division 
under Kirby Smith came charging over the ditch into 
the Mexican line and diverted their attention. 

Garland, meanwhile, moved down rapidly on the right 
with Dunn's guns, which were drawn by hand, all the 
horses having been wounded and become unmanageable. 
These soon opened an enfilading fire on the Mexican bat- 

222 




BATTLE OF >rOLIXO DEL REY 
(From a print of the time) 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

tery; and, some of the gunners flying, the light division 
charged, under a hot fire, and carried the guns for a second 
time. Their gallant leader was shot dead in the charge. 
But the enemy could afford to lose the battery. From 
the tops of the azoteas, from the Casa Mata, and the 
Molino, a deadly shower of balls was rained crosswise 
upon the assailants. Part of the reserve was brought 
up, and Dunn's guns and the Mexican battery were 
served upon the buildings without much effect at first. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Graham led a party of the Eleventh 
against the latter; when within pistol-shot a terrific vol- 
ley assailed him, wounding him in ten places. The gal- 
lant soldier quietly dismounted, pointed with his sword 
to the building, cried "Charge!" and sank dead on the 
field. 

There was an equally fierce fight at the other wing, 
where Dimcan and Mcintosh had driven in the enemy's 
right toward the Casa Mata. Mcintosh started to storm 
that fort; and, in the teeth of a tremendous hail of mus- 
ketry, advanced to the ditch, only twenty-five yards from 
the work. There a ball knocked him down; it was his 
luck to be shot or bayoneted m every battle. Martin 
Scott took the command, but as he ordered the men 
forward he rolled lifeless into the ditch. Major Waite, the 
next in rank, had hardly seen him fall before he too was 
disabled. By whole companies the men were mowed 
down by the Mexican shot; but they stood their ground. 
At length some one gave the word to fall back, and the 
remnants of the brigade obeyed. Many wounded were 
left on the ground ; among others Lieutenant Burnell, shot 
in the leg, whom the Mexicans murdered when his com- 
rades abandoned him. After the battle his body was 
found, and beside it his dog, moaning piteously and 
licking his dead master's face. 

At the head of four thousand cavalry, Alvarez now 
menaced our left. Duncan watched them come, driving 
a cloud of dust before them, till they were within close 
^s 223 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

range; then, opening with his wonderful rapidity, he shat- 
tered whole platoons at a discharge. Worth sent him 
word to be sure to keep the lancers in check. "Tell 
General Worth," was his reply, "to make himself per- 
fectly easy; I can whip twenty thousand of them." 
So far as Alvarez was concerned, he kept his word. 

On the American right the fight had reached a crisis. 
Mixed confusedly together, men of all arms furiously at- 
tacked the Molino, firing into every aperture, climbing 
to the roof, and striving to batter in the doors and gates 
with their muskets. The garrison never slackened their 
terrible fire for an instant. At length. Major Buchanan, 
of the Fourth, succeeded in bursting open the southern 
gate, and almost at the same moment Anderson and 
Ay res, of the artillery, forced their way into the buildings 
at the northwestern angle. Ayres leaped down alone 
into a crowd of Mexicans — -he had done the same at 
Monterey — and fell covered with wounds. In our men 
rushed on both sides, stabbing, firing, and felling the 
Mexicans with their muskets. From room to room and 
house to house a hand-to-hand encounter was kept up. 
Here a stalwart Mexican hurled down man after man as 
they advanced; there Buchanan and the Fourth levelled 
all before them. But the Mexicans never withstood the 
cold steel. One by one the defenders escaped by the 
rear toward Chapultepec, and those who remained hung 
out a white flag. Under Duncan's fire the Casa Mata 
had been evacuated, and the enemy was everywhere in 
full retreat. Twice he rallied and charged the Molino; 
but each time the artillery drove him back toward 
Chapultepec, and parties of the light infantry pursued 
him down the road. Before ten in the morning the whole 
field was won; and, having blown up the Casa Mata, 
Worth, by Scott's order, fell back to Tacubaya. 

With gloomy face and averted eye the gallant soldier 
received the thanks of his chief for the exploits of the 
morning. His heart was with the brave men he had 

224 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

lost: near eight hundred out of less than thirty-five 
hundred, and among them fifty-eight officers, many of 
whom were his dearest friends. All had fallen in ad- 
vance of their men, with sword in hand and noble words 
on their lips. They had helped to storm Molino del Rey, 
and to cut down near a fifth of Santa Anna's fourteen 
thousand men. Sadly the general returned to his 
quarters. 

The end was now close at hand. Reconnaissances were 
carefully made, and, the enemy's strength being gathered 
on the southern front of the city, General Scott deter- 
mined to assault Chapultepec on the west. By the morn- 
ing of the 12th the batteries were completed, and opened 
a brisk fire on the castle, without, however, doing any 
more serious damage than annoying the garrison and 
killing a few men. The fire was kept up all day ; and at 
night preparations were made for the assault, which was 
ordered to be made next morning. 

CHAPULTEPEC 

At daybreak on the 13th the cannonade recommenced, 
as well from the batteries planted against Chapultepec 
as from Steptoe's guns, which were served against the 
southern defences of the city in order to divert the atten- 
tion of the enemy. At 8 a.m. the firing from the former 
ceased and the attack commenced. Quitman advanced 
along the Tacubaya road, Pillow from the Molino del Rey, 
which he had occupied on the evening before. Between 
the Molino and the castle lay first an open space, then 
a grove thickly planted with trees; in the latter Mexican 
sharpshooters had been posted, protected by an intrench- 
ment on the border of the grove. Pillow sent Lieutenant- 
Colonel Johnstone with a party of voltigeurs to turn this 
work by a flank movement; it was handsomely accom- 
plished, and, just as the voltigeurs broke through the 
redan, Pillow, with the main body, charged it in front 

225 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

and drove back the Mexicans. The grove gained, Pillow 
pressed forward to the foot of the rock; for the Mexican 
shot from the castle batteries, crashing through the trees, 
seemed even more terrible than it really was, and the 
troops were becoming restless. The Mexicans had re- 
treated to a redoubt half-way up the hill; the voltigeurs 
sprang up from rock to rock, firing as they advanced, and 
followed by Hooker, Chase, and others, with parties of 
infantry. In a very few minutes the redoubt was gained, 
the garrison driven up the hill, and the voltigeurs. Ninth, 
and Fifteenth in hot pursuit after them. Here the firing 
from the castle was very severe. Colonel Ransom, of the 
Ninth, was killed, and Pillow himself was wounded. 

Still the troops pressed on till the crest of the hill was 
gained. There some moments were lost, owing to the 
delay in the arrival of scaling-ladders, during which two 
of Quitman's regiments and Clarke's brigade reinforced 
the storming party. When the ladders came, numbers of 
men rushed forward with them, leaped into the ditch, and 
planted them for the assault. Lieutenant Selden was the 
first man to mount. But the Mexicans collected all their 
energies for this last moment. A tremendous fire dashed 
the foremost of the stormers in the ditch, killing Lieuten- 
ants Rogers and Smith, and dealing the ladders. Fresh 
men instantly manned them, and, after a brief struggle, 
Captain Howard, of the voltigeurs, gained a foothold on 
the parapet. McKenzie, of the forlorn-hope, followed; 
and a crowd of voltigeurs and infantry, shouting and 
cheering, pressed after him and swept down upon the 
garrison with the bayonet. Almost at the same moment 
Johnstone, of the voltigeurs, who had led a small party 
round to the gate of the castle, broke it open and effected 
an entrance in spite of a fierce fire from the southern 
walls. The two parties uniting, a deadly conflict ensued 
within the building. Maddened by the recollection of 
the murder of their wounded comrades at Molino del Rey, 
the stormers at first showed no quarter. On every side 

226 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

the Mexicans were stabbed or shot down without mercy. 
Many flung themselves over the parapet and down the 
hillside, and were dashed in pieces against the rocks. 
More fought like fiends, expending their last breath in a 
malediction and expiring in the act of aiming a treach- 
erous blow as they lay on the ground. Streams of blood 
flowed through the doors of the college, and every room 
and passage was the theatre of some deadly struggle. 
At length the officers succeeded in putting an end to the 
carnage, and, the remaining Mexicans having surrendered, 
the stars and stripes were hoisted over the castle of 
Chapultepec by Major Seymour. 

Meanwhile Quitman had stormed the batteries on the 
causeway to the east of the castle, after a desperate 
struggle, in which Major Twiggs, who commanded the 
stormers, was shot dead at the head of his men. The 
Mexicans fell back toward the city. General Scott, com- 
ing up at this moment, ordered a simultaneous advance 
to be made on the city along the two roads leading from 
Chapultepec to the gates of San Cosme and Belen re- 
spectively. Worth was to command that on San Cosme, 
Quitman that on Belen. Both were prepared for defence 
by barricades, behind which the enemy were posted in 
great numbers. Fortunately for the assailants, an aque- 
duct, supported on arches of solid masonry, ran along 
the centre of each causeway. By keeping under cover 
of these arches and springing rapidly from one to an- 
other. Smith's rifles and the South Carolina regiment 
were enabled to advance close to the first barricade on 
the Belen road and pour in a destructive fire on the 
gunners. A flank discharge from Duncan's guns com- 
pleted the work; the barricade was carried; and, with- 
out a moment's rest, Quitman advanced in the same man- 
ner on the garita of San Belen, which was held by Gfeneral 
Torres with a strong garrison. It, too, was stormed, though 
under a fearful hail of grape and canister; and the rifles 
moved forward toward the citadel. But at this moment 

227 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Santa Anna rode furiously down to the point of attack. 
Boiling with rage at the success of the invaders, he smote 
General Torres in the face, threw a host of infantry into 
the houses commanding the garita and the road, ordered 
the batteries in the citadel to open fire, planted fresh 
guns on the Paseo, and infused such spirit into the Mexi- 
cans that Quitman's advance was stopped at once. A 
terrific storm of shot, shells, and grape assailed the garita, 
where Captain Dunn had planted an eight-pounder. 
Twice the gunners were shot down, and fresh men sent to 
take their places. Then Dunn himself fell, and immedi- 
ately afterward Lieutenant Benjamin and his first ser- 
geant met the same fate. The riflemen in the arches re- 
pelled sallies, but Quitman's position was precarious till 
night terminated the conflict. 

Worth, meanwhile, had advanced in like manner along 
the San Cosme causeway, driving the Mexicans from 
barricade to barricade till within two hundred and fifty 
yards of the garita of San Cosme. There he encountered 
as severe a fire as that which stopped Quitman. But 
Scott had ordered him to take the garita, and take it he 
would. Throwing Garland's brigade out to the right 
and Clarke's to the left, he ordered them to break into 
the houses, burst through the walls, and bore their way 
to the flanks of the garita. The plan had succeeded per- 
fectly at Monterey ; nor did it fail here. Slowly but surely 
the sappers passed from house to house, until at sunset 
they reached the point desired. Then Worth ordered the 
attack. Lieutenant Hunt brought up a light gun at a 
gallop and fired it through the embrasure of the enemy's 
battery, almost muzzle to muzzle; the infantry at the 
same moment opened a most deadly and unexpected fire 
from the roofs of the houses, and McKenzie, at the head 
of the stormers, dashed at the battery and carried it 
almost without loss. The Mexicans fled precipitately into 
the city. 

At one that night two parties left the citadel and 

228 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

issued forth from the city. One was the remnant of the 
Mexican army, which slunk silently and noiselessly 
through the northern gate, and fled to Guadalupe- Hidalgo; 
the other was a body of officers who came under a white 
flag to propose terms of capitulation. 

THE OCCUPATION OF THE CITY OF MEXICO 

The sun shone brightly on the morning of September 
14th. Scores of neutral flags floated from the windows 
on the Calle de Plateros, and in their shade beautiful 
women gazed curiously on the scene beneath. Gayly 
dressed groups thronged the balconies, and at the street- 
corners were scowling, dark-faced men. The street re- 
sounded with the heavy tramp of infantry, the rattle of 
gun-carriages, and the clatter of horses' hoofs. *'Los 
Yanquies!" was the cry, and every neck was stretched to 
obtain a glimpse of the six thousand bemired and be- 
grimed soldiers who were marching proudly to the Gran 
Plaza. But six months before, Winfield Scott had landed 
on the Mexican coast; since then he had stormed the two 
strongest places in the country, won four battles in the 
field against armies double, treble, and quadruple his own, 
and marched without reverse from Vera Cruz to the city 
of Mexico; losing fewer men, making fewer mistakes, and 
creating less devastation, in proportion to his victories, 
than any invading general of former times. 

SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, BETWEEN THE CONQUEST OF 
MEXICO, 1847, AND THE BOMBARD- 
MENT OF FORT SUMTER, 1861 
1848. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo between the United 
States and Mexico. Admission of Wisconsin into the 
Union. Congress passes an act for the organization of 
Oregon Territory. Migration of the Mormons to Great 
Salt Lake. Zachary Taylor elected President. Forma- 

229 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

tion of the Free-Soil party. Discovery of gold in Cali- 
fornia. 

1850. The United States and Great Britain conclude 
the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty regarding a water route across 
Central America. On the death of Zachary Taylor, 
Millard Fillmore succeeds to the Presidency. New 
Mexico and Utah are organized as territories, and the 
"Clay Compromise," providing for the admission of 
California as a free state, is adopted. Slavery in the 
District of Columbia is abolished. 

1 85 1. Unsuccessful filibustering expedition, under Lo- 
pez, against Cuba. Arrival of Louis Kossuth in the 
United States. 

1852. Franklin Pierce elected President. 

1853. Organization of Washington Territory. The 
Kane Arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. 

1854. Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, limiting slave 
territory in the United States, and passage of the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, making slavery optional in the new terri- 
tories. The "Ostend Manifesto" recommends the pur- 
chase of Cuba by the United States. Passage of the 
commercial reciprocity treaty between the United States 
and Canada (abrogated in 1866). Commodore Perry 
concludes a treaty with Japan. 

1855. A Pro-Slavery legislature organizes in Kansas. A 
Free-State convention draws up the Topeka Constitution. 
William Walker, with a force of filibusters, invades Nicara- 
gua. Opening of the railway across the Isthmus of Panama. 

1856. Civdl war in Kansas. James Buchanan elected 
President. 

1857. Victory of the Free-State party at the polls in 
Kansas. A Pro-Slavery convention drawls up the Le- 
compton Constitution. Dred Scott decision. Mormon 
rebellion in Utah. Financial panic in the United States 
and Europe. 

1858. Admission of Minnesota into the Union. Kansas 
rejects the Lecompton Constitution. Senator Douglas 

230 



SCOTT'S CONQUEST OF MEXICO 

debates. Partial establishment of transatlantic tele- 
graphic communication. 

1859. Admission of Oregon into the Union. John 
Brown's raid into West Virginia. His capture, trial, 
and execution. Petroleum discovered in the United 
States. San Juan islands occupied by General Harney. 

i860. Abraham Lincoln elected President. Secession 
of South Carolina. Kansas prohibits slavery within its 
boundaries. Lewis Cass, Secretary of State, resigns "be- 
cause President Buchanan refused to reinforce Major 
Anderson at Fort Moultrie, S. C. 

1 86 1. Secession of Mississippi, January 9th, followed 
by Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Louisiana. 
Admission of Kansas into the Union. Jefferson Davis 
elected president of the Confederate States of America 
on February 7th. Bombardment of Fort Sumter. 



XV 

FORT SUMTER, 1861 

I 

DRIFT TOWARD SOUTHERN NATIONALIZATION (1850-1860) 

SEVENTY -TWO years after the adoption of the 
Constitution, called into being to form "a more 
perfect union," and eighty-five years after the declaration 
of independence (a space completely covered by the lives 
of men still living) , a new confederacy of seven Southern 
states was formed, and the great political fabric, the 
exemplar and hope of every lover of freedom throughout 
the world, was apparently hopelessly rent. Of these 
seven states but two were of the original thirteen- — 
Louisiana and Florida had been purchased by the govern- 
ment of the Union; a war had been fought in behalf of 
Texas; two states, Alabama and Mississippi, lay within 
original claims of Georgia, but had been ceded to the 
Union and organized as Federal territories. 

April II, 1 86 1, found a fully organized separate gov- 
ernment established for these seven states, with a de- 
termination to form a separate nation, most forcibly 
expressed by the presence of an army at Charleston, 
South Carolina, which next day was to open fire upon 
a feebly manned fort, and thus to begin a terrible civil 
war. The eight other slave states were in a turmoil of 
anxiety, leaning toward their sisters of the farther South 
through the common sympathy which came of slavery, 
but drawn also to the Union through tradition and 

232 



FORT SUMTER 

appreciation of benefits, and through a realization by a 
great number of persons that their interests in slavery- 
were much less than those of the states which had al- 
ready seceded. 

The North, in the middle of April, was only emerging 
from a condition of stupefied amazement at a condition 
which scarcely any of its statesmen, and practically none 
of the men of every-day life, had thought possible. It 
was to this crisis that the country had been brought by 
the conflicting views of the two great and strongly di- 
vided sections of the Union respecting slavery, and by 
the national aspirations which, however little recog- 
nized, were working surely in each section, but upon 
divergent lines. 

The outward manifestations in the history of the 
separation of the North and the South stand out in 
strong relief: the Missouri question; the protective tariff 
and South Carolina nullification; the abolition attacks 
which wrought the South into a frenzy suicidal in char- 
acter through its impossible demands upon the North 
for protection; the action of the Southern statesmen in 
the question of petitions; the passage of a fugitive-slave 
law which drove the North itself to nullification; the 
Kansas- Nebraska act and its outcome of civil war in the 
former territory; the- recognition, in the dicta of the 
supreme court in the Dred Scott case, of the South's 
contention of its constitutional right to carry slavery 
into the territories, and the stand taken by the North 
against any further slavery extension. To these visible 
conflicts were added the unconscious workings of the 
disruptive forces of a totally distinct social organization. 
The outward strifes were but the symptoms of a malady 
in the body politic of the Union which could have but 
one end, unless the deep, abiding cause, slavery, should be 
removed.^ 

1 Cf. Am. Nation, XIV/XVI-XVIII, passim. 
233 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The president and vice-president of the Southern Con- 
federacy, in their elaborate defences written after the 
war, have endeavored to rest the cause of the struggle 
wholly on constitutional questions. Stephens, whose 
book, not even excepting Calhoun's utterances, is the 
ablest exposition of the Southern reading of the Con- 
stitution, says: "The struggle or conflict, . . . from its 
rise to its culmination, was between those who, in what- 
ever state they lived, were for maintaining our Federal 
system as it was established, and those who were for a 
consolidation of power in the central head." ^ Jefferson 
Davis is even more explicit. "The truth remains," he 
says, " intact and incontrovertible, that the existence of 
African servitude was in no wise the cause of the con- 
flict, but only an incident. In the later controversies . . . 
its effect in operating as a lever upon the passions, prej- 
udices, or sympathies of mankind was so potent that 
it has been spread like a thick cloud over the whole 
horizon of historic truth." ^ 

This is but begging the question. The constitutional 
view had its weight for the South in i860 as it had for 
New England in the Jefferson-Madison period. Jeffer- 
son's iron domination of the national government during 
his presidency, a policy hateful to New England, com- 
bined with the fear of being overweighted in sectional 
influence by the western extension through the Louisiana 
purchase, led to pronounced threats of secession by men 
of New England, ardently desirous of escaping from what 
Pickering, one of its most prominent men, termed the 
Virginian supremacy.^ Exactly the same arguments were 
used, mutatis mutandis, later by the South. 

As we all know, the movement, which never had any 
real popular support and which had its last spasm of life 
in the Hartford Convention at the close of the War of 

^ Stephens, War between the States, II, 32. 

2 Davis, Confederate Government, I, 80. 

5 Adams, New England Federalism, 144-146. 

234 



FORT SUMTER 

1812, came to naught. Freed by the fall of Napoleon 
and the peace with England from the pressure of the 
upper and nether mill-stones which had so ground to 
pieces our commerce, a prosperity set in which drowned 
the sporadic discontent of the previous twenty years. 
The fears of the Eastern states no longer loomed so high 
and were as imaginary in fact, and had as slight a basis, 
as were, in the beginning of the era of discord, those of 
the South. Could slavery have been otherwise pre- 
served, the extreme decentralizing ideas of the South 
would have disappeared with equal ease, and Stephens' 
causa causans — " the different and directly opposite views 
as to the nature of the government of the United States, 
and where, under our system, ultimate sovereign power 
or paramount authority properly resides," would have 
had no more intensity of meaning in i860 than to-day. 

Divergence of constitutional views, like most questions 
of government, follow the lines of self-interest; Jeffer- 
son's qualms gave way before the great prize of Louisiana ; 
one part of the South was ready in 1832 to go to war on 
account of a protective tariff; another, Louisiana, was 
at the same time demanding protection for her special 
industry. The South thus simply shared in our general 
human nature, and fought, not for a pure abstraction, as 
Davis and Stephens, led by Calhoun, would have it, but 
for the supposed self-interest which its view of the Con- 
stitution protected. Its section, its society, could not 
continue to develop in the Union under the Northern 
reading of the document, and the irrepressible and cer- 
tain nationalization, so different from its own tendencies, 
to which the North as a whole was steadily moving. 

Slavery drove the South into opposition to the broad, 
liberal movement of the age. The French Revolution; 
the destruction of feudalism by Napoleon; the later 
popular movements throughout Europe and South 
America; the liberalizing of Great Britain; the na- 
tionalistic ideas of which we have the results in the 

235 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

German empire and the kingdom of Italy, and the strong 
nationalistic feeling developing in the northern part of 
the Union itself had but little reflex action in the South 
because of slavery and the South's consequent segrega- 
tion and tendency to a feudalistic nationalization. 



II 

STATUS OF THE FORTS (OCT. 29, 1860-DEC. 20, i860) 

General Scott, with his memories of 1832, was one of 
those who appreciated the danger hanging over the 
country, and, October 29, i860, he wrote from New York, 
where he had his headquarters, a letter of great length 
to the President, which in pompous phrases, conceding 
the right of secession, and embodying some absurd ideas, 
such as allowing " the fragments of the great republic to 
form themselves into new confederacies, probably four," 
as a smaller evil than war, gave it as his " solemn con- 
viction " that there was, from his knowledge of the South- 
ern population, "some danger of an early act of rashness 
preliminary to secession, viz.: the seizure of some or all 
of the following posts: Forts Jackson and St. Philip on 
the Mississippi; Morgan below Mobile, all without garri- 
sons; Pickens, McKee at Pensacola, with an insufficient 
garrison for one; Pulaski, below Savannah, without a 
garrison; Moultrie and Sumter, Charleston harbor, the 
former with an insufficient garrison, the latter without 
any; and Fort Monroe, Hampton Roads, with an in- 
sufficient garrison." 

He gave it as his opinion that *'all these works should 
be immediately so garrisoned as to make any attempt to 
take any one of them by surprise or coup de main ridicu- 
lous." He did not state the number of men needed, but 
in a supplementary paper the next day (October 30th) 
said, "There is one (regular) company in Boston, one 
here (at the Narrows), one at Pittsburg, one at Baton 

236 



FORT SUMTER 

Rouge — in all, five companies only within reach." ^ These 
five companies, about two hundred and fifty men, were 
of course absurdly inadequate to garrison nine such posts, 
but, had there been a determination in the President's 
mind to prevent seizures, enough men could have been 
brought together to hold the more important points. 

For Scott's statement as to the number available was 
grossly inaccurate, and but serves to show the parlous 
state of a war department in which the general-in-chief 
can either be so misinformed or allow himself to remain 
in ignorance of vital facts. There were but five points 
in the farther South of primal importance : the Mississippi, 
Mobile, Pensacola, Savannah, and Charleston; two hun- 
dred men at each would have been ample to hold the 
positions for the time being, and, being held, reinforce- 
ment in any degree would later have been easy. There 
was a total of 1048 officers and men at the Northern 
posts, ^ including Leavenworth, Mackinac, Piatt sburg, 
Boston, New York, and Fort Monroe, who could have 
been drawn upon. There were already 250 men at 
Charleston, Key West, Pensacola, and Baton Rouge. 
It is safe to say that a thousand men were available. 
There were also some eight hundred marines at the navy- 
yards and barracks ^ who could have been used in such 
an emergency. The aggregate of the army, June 30, 
i860, was 16,006, of which 14,926 were enlisted men; 
and it was in the power of the President to increase this 
total aggregate to 18,626.* Recruiting was, in fact, 
actively going on; almost every man at the posts men- 
tioned could, even much after the date of Scott's paper, 
have been safely withdrawn for the object mentioned and 
quickly replaced. 

^ Buchanan, Administration on Eve of Rebellion, chap, v; Na- 
tional Intelligencer, January 18, 1861. 

2 Secretary of War, Report, i860, Senate Exec. Docs., 36 Cong., 2 
Sess., No. I, pp. 214, 216. 

2 Secretary of Navy, Report, i860, ibid., 383. 

* Secretary of War, Report, i860, ibid., 209, 213. 

237 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Scott's inaccurate report gave Buchanan additional 
reason for the inaction which was his basic thought. 
He says, in his apologia, that "to have attempted to dis- 
tribute these five companies in the eight forts of the 
cotton states and Fortress Monroe in Virginia, would 
have been a confession of weakness. ... It could have 
had no effect in preventing secession, but must have 
done much to provoke it." ^ The first part of this state- 
ment would have been true had these five companies 
been the only force available; the second, on the sup- 
position that the President meant that any attempt with 
a force reasonably large would have provoked secession, 
was a short-sighted view. To garrison the forts could 
not have been more obnoxious than to put them in a 
state of defence. At any time before the secession of a 
state they could have been garrisoned without bringing 
on actual conflict. The statesmen of the South were 
well aware that an attack upon an armed force of the 
United States, before secession, must place them irre- 
trievably in the wrong. South Carolina did not secede 
until December 20th. To resist the sending of troops 
before this date to any of these forts would have been 
unqualified treason, and for this no one in the South 
was prepared. The safety of the secession movement, 
the extension of sympathy throughout the South, rested 
very greatly upon strict compliance with the forms of 
law and with the theories of the Constitution held by 
that section. At least one ardent secessionist. Judge 
Longstreet, recognized this when he appealed to South- 
Carolinians to refrain from any act of war; "let the first 
shot," he said, "come from the enemy. Burn that pre- 
cept into your hearts.'' ^ It was impossible that the 
Southern leaders should place themselves, or allow their 
people to place them, in the attitude of waging war against 
the Union while even in their own view their states still 

^ Buchanan, Administration on Eve of Rebellion, 104. 
^National Intelligencer, January 11, 1861. 
238 



FORT SUMTER 

remained within it. There was, too, still a very large 
Union sentiment in the South, though finally swept into 
the vortex by the principle of going with the state, which 
would not have been averse to a determined action on 
the part of the President and might have upheld it, as 
in 1833. Such vigor would have given this sentiment a 
working basis, through the evidence that the Federal 
authority was to be upheld; and it would have caused 
a pause even in the least thoughtful of the secessionists 
had they felt that their coast strongholds were to be held 
and all their ports to be in the hands of the enemy. In 
the dearth of manufactures in the South, the holding of 
their ports was an essential to Southern military success. 
Their closure by blockade was equally an essential to 
the success of the North. The strategy of the situation 
was of the clearest and most palpable, and with their 
coast forts in Union hands warlike action on the part 
of the South is not conceivable. One can thus under- 
stand the importance of spreading the reiterated state- 
ments of "intense excitement" and "danger of attack" 
in the event of reinforcement; statements which, in the 
circumstances, must be regarded, if the phrase may be 
used, in the nature of a gigantic and successful "bluff." 

The military property of the United States at Charles- 
ton consisted of the armory, covering a few acres, where 
were stored twenty-two thousand muskets and a con- 
siderable number of old, heavy guns, and of three forts 
named for South-Carolinians of Union-wide fame. The 
smallest of these, Castle Pinckney, was a round, brick 
structure, in excellent condition, on a small island directly 
east of the town and distant from the wharves but half 
a mile. It completely commanded the town, and had 
a formidable armament of four forty - two - pounders, 
fourteen twenty-four-pounders, and four eight-inch sea- , 
coast howitzers. The powder of the arsenal was here 
stored. The only garrison was an ordnance sergeant, 
16 239 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

who, with his family, looked after the harbor light which 
was in the fort. 

Almost due east again, and three miles distant, was 
Fort Moultrie, on the south end of Sullivan's Island, a 
low sand- spit forming the north side of the harbor en- 
trance. The work had an area of one and a half acres, 
and mounted fifty-five guns in barbette. The drifting 
sands had piled themselves even with the parapet, and 
the work was in such condition as to be indefensible 
against a land attack. The whole was but of a piece with 
the long-continued neglect arising from many years of 
peace and the optimistic temperament of a people who 
never believe that war can occur until it is upon them; 
it was the natural outcome of the almost entire absence 
of governmental system and forethought of the time. 
The fort was garrisoned by two companies, comprising 
sixty-four enlisted men and eight officers, of the First 
regiment of artillery; the surgeon, band, a hospital 
steward, and an ordnance sergeant brought the total up 
to eighty-four. 

Almost south of Moultrie was Cummings Point, on 
Morris Island, forming the southern side of the harbor 
entrance. Nearly midway between this point and 
Moultrie, but a half-mile within the line joining them, 
and distant three and a half miles from the nearest part 
of the city, was Fort Sumter, begun in 1829, and after 
thirty-one >ears not yet finished. Built on a shoal cov- 
ered at most stages of the tide, it rose directly out of the 
water, with two tiers of casemates, and surmounted by 
a third tier of guns in barbette. In plan it was very 
like the transverse section of the ordinary American house, 
the apex of the two sides representing the lines of the 
roof, looking toward Moultrie. It was intended for a 
garrison of six hundred and fifty men and an armament 
of one hundred and forty-six guns, of which seventy-eight 
were on hand. 

On a report made in July by Captain J. G. Foster, repairs 

240 



FORT SUMTER 

on Moultrie were begun September 14th, and next day 
upon Sumter, some two hundred and fifty men being 
employed. The sand about the walls of Moultrie was 
removed, a wet ditch dug, a glacis formed, the guard- 
house pierced with loop-holes, and the four field-guns 
placed in position for flank attack. 

At the end of October, Captain Foster, foreseeing events, 
requested the issue of arms to the workmen to protect 
property, and the Secretary of War approved the issue of 
forty muskets, if it should meet the concurrence of the 
commanding officer. Colonel Gardner, in reply, Novem- 
ber 5th, doubted the expediency, as most of the laborers 
were foreigners, indifferent to which side they took, and 
wisely advised, instead, filling up "at once" the two 
companies at Moultrie with recruits and sending two 
companies from Fort Monroe to the two other forts. ^ 
The requisition was thus held in abeyance, and the 
muskets remained at the arsenal. When, only two days 
later, Gardner, urged by the repeated solicitations of his 
officers, directed the transfer of musket ammunition to 
Moultrie, the loading of the schooner was objected to by 
the owner of the wharf, and the military store-keeper, 
under apparently very inadequate pressure, returned the 
stores to the arsenal. A permit, given by the mayor of 
Charleston next day, for the removal was very properly 
declined by Gardner, on the ground that the city au- 
thorities could not control his actions.^ 

The affair, however, cost Gardner his command, by a 
process described by the Assistant Secretary of State, 
Trescot: "I received a telegram from Charleston, saying 
that intense excitement prevailed, . . . and that, if the 
removal was by orders of the Department of War, it ought 
to be revoked, otherwise collision was inevitable. Knowing 
the Cabinet were then in session, I went over to the White 
House. ... I took Governor Floyd aside, and he was 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 68. 
2 Ibid., p. 69; Crawford, Fort Sumter, 57, 58. 
241 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

joined, I think, by Messrs. Cobb and Toucey, and showed 
them the telegram. Governor Floyd replied, ' Telegraph 
back at once; say that you have seen me, that no such 
orders have been issued, and none such will be issued, 
under any circumstances.'" Floyd, a day or so later, 
gave Trescot "his impressions of the folly of Colonel 
Gardner's conduct, and his final determination to re- 
move him and supply his place with Major Robert An- 
derson, in whose discretion, coolness, and judgment he 
put great confidence. He also determined to send Colonel 
Ben. Huger to take charge of the arsenal, believing that 
his high reputation, his close association with many of 
the most influential people in Charleston, and the fact of 
his being a Carolinian, would satisfy the state of the 
intention of the government." ^ 

That Floyd himself was in an uncertain state of mind 
is shown by his willingness to begin and continue the 
work upon the forts; that his mental state did not per- 
mit logical action is clear from his temper and attitude 
regarding the transfer of musket ammunition November 
yth, though but the week before (October 31st) he had 
authorized the transfer of the muskets themselves. 

Major Fitz-John Porter, of the adjutant-general's office, 
later the able and ill-treated general, was sent to Charles- 
ton to inspect the conditions. His report, made Novem- 
ber nth, revealed the military inefficiency almost in- 
separable from a post so neglected and ill-manned, and 
subject to the lazy peace conditions of the period. He 
said: "The unguarded state of the fort invites attack, 
if such design exists, and much discretion and prudence 
are required on the part of the commander to restore the 
proper security without exciting a community prompt to 
misconstrue actions of authority. I think this can be 
effected by a proper commander without checking in the 
slightest the progress of the engineer in completing the 

* Trescot MS., quoted by Crawford, Fort Sumter, 58, 59. 
242 



FORT SUMTER 

works of defence." Major Porter continues with a most 
significant phrase, " All could have been easily arranged 
a few weeks since, when the danger was foreseen by the 
present commander." ^ 

November 15th, Anderson was ordered to the command. 
A Kentuckian by birth, his wife a Georgian, his views in 
sympathy with those of General Scott, he appeared to be 
and, as results proved, was in many respects particularly 
fitted for the post; by November 23d he was able to 
report that in two weeks the outer defences of Moultrie 
would be finished and the guns mounted, and that Sumter 
was ready for the comfortable accommodation of one 
company, and, indeed, for the temporary reception of 
its proper garrison. "This," he said, "is the key to the 
entrance to this harbor; its guns command this work 
[Moultrie] and could drive out its occupants. It should 
be garrisoned at once. ... So important do I consider the 
holding of Castle Pinckney by the government that I 
recommend, if the troops asked for cannot be sent at 
once, that I be authorized to place an engineer detach- 
ment [of an officer and thirty workmen] ... to make the 
repairs needed there. ... If my force was not so very 
small, I would not hesitate to send a detachment at once 
to garrison that work. Fort Sumter and Castle Pinck- 
ney must be garrisoned immediately if the government 
determines to keep command of this harbor." 

Anderson proceeded to give advice which sane judg- 
ment and every sentiment of national honor demanded. 
After mentioning his anxiety to avoid collision with the 
citizens of South Carolina, he said: "Nothing, however, 
will be better calculated to prevent bloodshed than our 
being found in such an attitude that it would be mad- 
ness and folly to attack us. There is not so much feverish 
excitement as there was last week, but that there is a 
settled determination to leave the Union, and obtain 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 70, 
243 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

possession of this work, is apparent to all. . . . The clouds 
are threatening, and the storm may break upon us at 
any moment. I do, then, most earnestly entreat that a 
reinforcement be immediately sent to this garrison, and 
that at least two companies be sent at the same time to 
Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney." Anderson also 
stated his belief that as soon as the people of South 
Carolina learned that he had demanded reinforcements 
they would occupy Pinckney and attack Moultrie; and 
therefore it was vitally important to embark the troops 
in war steamers and designate them for other duty as a 
blind. ^ Captain Foster, November 24th, reported the 
whole of the barbette tier of Sumter ready for its arma- 
ment and as presenting an excellent appearance of prep- 
aration and strength equal to seventy per cent, of its 
efficiency when finished.^ He said, November 30th, "I 
think more troops should have been sent here to guard 
the forts, and I believe that no serious demonstration on 
the part of the populace would have met such a course." ^ 
The work on the forts was, of course, well known to 
the people of Charleston, and that at Moultrie, at least, 
subject to daily inspection by many visitors. There was 
still no restriction "upon any intercourse with Charles- 
ton, many of whose citizens were temporary residents of 
Sullivan's Island. The activity about the fort drew to 
it a large number of visitors daily, and the position of 
the garrison and the probable action of the state in 
regard to the forts were constant subjects of discussion. 
There was as yet no unfriendly feeling manifested, and 
the social intercourse between the garrison and their 
friends in Charleston was uninterrupted. But as the 
days went on the feeling assumed a more definite shape, 
and found expression in many ways. ... It was openly 
announced, both to the commanding officer and to his 
officers, that as soon as the state seceded a demand for 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, pp. 74, 75. 

^ Ibid., 76. Ubid., 80. 

244 



FORT SUMTER 

the delivery of the forts would be made, and, if resisted, 
they would be taken. . . . Meantime, all of the able-bodied 
men in Charleston were enrolled, military companies 
were formed everywhere, and drilling went on by night 
and day, and with the impression among them that they 
were to attack Fort Moultrie." ^ November 28th and 
December ist, Anderson again pressed for troops or for 
ships of war in the harbor ; ^ but his last request was an- 
ticipated in a letter of the same date, when he was in- 
formed by the War Department, "from information 
thought to be reliable, that an attack will not be made 
on your command, and the Secretary has only to refer 
to his conversation with you and to caution you that, should 
his convictions unhappily prove untrue, your actions 
must be such as to be free from the charge of initiating a 
collision. If attacked, you are of course expected to 
defend the trust committed to you to the best of your 
ability." 3 

A demand being made by the adjutant of a South 
Carolina regiment on the engineer officer at Moultrie for 
a list of his workmen, "as it was desired to enroll the men 
upon them for military duty," * Anderson asked for in- 
structions. The War Department replied, December 14th, 
"If the state authorities demand any of Captain Foster's 
workmen on the ground of their being enrolled into the 
service of the state, . . , you will, after fully satisfying 
yourself that the men are subject to enrolment, and have 
been properly enrolled, . . . cause them to be delivered up 
or suffer them to depart." Banality could go no further, 
and Anderson, December i8th, informed the department 
that, as he understood it, "the South Carolina authorities 
sought to enroll as a part of their army intended to act 
against the forces of the United States men who are 
employed by and in the pay of that government, and 

^ Crawford, Fort Sumter, 64. 

2 War Records, Serial No. i, pp. 79-82. 

^ Ibid,, p. 82. ''Crawford, Fort Sumter, 67. 

245 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

could not, as I conceived, be enrolled by South Carolina 
'under the laws of the United States and of the state of 
South Carolina.'" No answer was vouchsafed to this, 
and the request was not complied with. 

Anderson's repeated statements of the necessity of the 
occupancy of Sumter, without which his own position 
was untenable, led to the despatch of Major Buell, a Ken- 
tuckian, and later a major-general of United States 
volunteers, with verbal instructions, which, however, on 
Buell's own motion, and with the thought that Anderson 
should have written evidence, were reduced, December 
nth, to writing. This memorandum is of such impor- 
tance that it must be given in full. 

"You are aware of the great anxiety of the Secretary 
of War that a collision of the troops with the people of 
this state shall be avoided, and of his studied determina- 
tion to pursue a course with reference to the military 
force and forts in this harbor which shall guard against 
such a collision. He has therefore carefully abstained 
from increasing the force at this point, or taking any 
measures which might add to the present excited state 
of the public mind, or which would throw any doubt on 
the confidence he feels that South Carolina will not 
attempt, by violence, to obtain possession of the public 
works or interfere with their occupancy. But as the 
counsels and acts of rash and impulsive persons may 
possibly disappoint those expectations of the govern- 
ment, he deems it proper that you should be prepared 
with instructions to meet so unhappy a contingency. 
He has therefore directed me verbally to give you such 
instructions. You are carefully to avoid every act which 
would needlessly tend to provoke aggression; and for 
that reason you are not without evident and imminent 
necessity to take up any position which could be con- 
strued in the assumption of a hostile attitude. But 
you are to hold possession of the forts in the harbor, 
and if attacked you are to defend yourself to the last 

246 



FORT SUMTER 

extremity. The smallness of your force will not permit 
you, perhaps, to occupy more than one of the three forts, 
but an attack on, or attempt to take possession of, any 
one of them will be regarded as an act of hostility, and 
you may then put your command into either of them 
which you may deem most proper to increase its power 
of resistance. You are also authorized to take similar 
steps whenever you have tangible evidence of a design 
to proceed to a hostile act." ^ 

These instructions did not come to the President's 
knowledge until December 21st, though a despatch from 
Washington, December 13th, published in the Charleston 
Courier, announced Major Buell's visit; when made 
known to the President, he directed them to be modified, 
ordering that if "attacked by a force so superior that re- 
sistance would, in your judgment, be a useless waste of 
life, it will be your duty to yield to necessity and make 
the best terms in your power." ^ 

December 3d, Anderson placed Lieutenant Jefferson C. 
Davis with thirty men in Castle Pinckney, and began 
work there. Action upon a request for arms for the 
workmen at Sumter and Pinckney was deferred by the 
War Department "for the present," but Captain Foster 
going to the arsenal, December 17th, for two gins for 
hoisting, "to the transmission of which there was no 
objection," arranged with the store-keeper that the old 
order of the Ordnance Department of November ist, for 
forty muskets, should be complied with, which was done. 
"Intense excitement" as usual was reported the next 
day to have occurred; there was the reiteration of great 
danger of "violent demonstration " from a military official 
of the state who called upon Foster, and who stated that 
Colonel Huger had informed the governor that no arms 
should be removed. Foster declined to return the arms, 
stating that he knew nothing of Huger's pledge, but was 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 89. "^ Ibid., 103. 

247 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERLCA 

willing to refer the matter to Washington. Trescot was 
informed by telegraph that "not a moment's time should 
be lost." The Secretary of War was aroused in the 
depths of the night, and the result was a telegraphic order 
from Floyd himself to "return [the arms] instantly." ^ 
The go-between Assistant Secretary of State, so busily 
engaged with affairs not his own, received from the aide- 
de-camp of Governor Pickens the telegram: "The Gov- 
ernor says he is glad of your despatch, for otherwise there 
would have been imminent danger. Earnestly urge that 
there be no transfer of troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort 
Sumter and inform Secretary of W^ar." ^ Captain Foster, 
explaining to the War Department, December 20. i860, 
says, "when in town to see General Schnierle and allay 
any excitement relative to the muskets, I found to my 
surprise that there was no excitement except with a 
very few who had been active in the matter, and the 
majority of the gentlemen whom I met had not even 
heard of it." ^ 

Pickens, the new governor of South Carolina, Decem- 
ber 17th, the day after his inauguration, and before the 
state had passed the ordinance of secession, made a de- 
mand on the President for the delivery of Fort Sumter. 
The letter, drawn in the most offensive terms, and marked 
"strictly confidential," urged that all work be stopped 
and that no more troops be ordered. It continued: "It 
is not improbable that, under orders from the comman- 
dant, or, perhaps, from the commander-in-chief of the 
army, the alteration and defences of the posts are pro- 
gressing without the knowledge of yourself or the Secre- 
tary of War. The arsenal in the city of Charleston, with 
the public arms, I am informed, was turned over very 
properly to the keeping and defence of the state force at 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, pp. 96-100; Crawford, Fort Sum- 
ter, 77. 

2 Trescot AIS., quoted by Crawford, Fort Sumter, 78. 
^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 10 1. 

248 



FORT SUMTER 

the urgent request of the Governor of South Carolina. 
I would most respectfully, and from a sincere devotion 
to the public peace, request that you would allow me to 
send a small force, not exceeding twenty-five men and 
an officer, to take possession of Fort Sumter immediately, 
in order to give a feeling of safety to the community." ^ 
The ever-ready Trescot arranged an interview Decem- 
ber 2oth with the President for the delivery of the letter. 
The President stated that he would give an answer the 
next day. In the mean time Trescot, seeing the diffi- 
culties to which it led, consulted both Senators Davis 
and Slidell, who thought the demand "could do nothing 
but mischief"; and on consultation with two of the 
South Carolina delegation in Washington, Governor 
Pickens was advised by telegraph to withdraw the 
letter, which was done. Trescot's letter to Governor 
Pickens, returning that of the latter, after mentioning 
all that had been done by the executive to refrain from 
injuring the sensibilities of South Carolina, said: The 
President's "course had been violently denounced by 
the Northern press, and an effort was being made to 
institute a Congressional investigation. At that moment 
he could not have gone to the extent of action you de- 
sired, and I felt confident that, if forced to answer your 
letter then, he would have taken such ground as would 
have prevented his even approaching it hereafter; . . . 
you had all the advantage of knowing the truth, without 
the disadvantage of having it put on record. ... I was 
also perfectly satisfied that the status of the garrison 
would not be disturbed. ... I have had this morning an 
interview with Governor Floyd, the Secretary of War; . . . 
while I cannot even here venture into details, which are 
too confidential to be risked in any way, I am prepared to 
say . . . that nothing will be done which will either do 
you injury or properly create alarm." ^ 

1 Crawford, Fort Sumter, 81-83. ^ Ibid., 8$, 86. 

249 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The President's painful weakness is but too clear in 
the fact that he had not only given his confidence so 
largely to such a man, whose position and attitude he 
knew, but saw nothing derogatory in such a letter as 
that of Governor Pickens, and could draft a reply 
(December 20th) in which, while stating that no au- 
thority had been given to Governor Gist to guard the 
Charleston arsenal, he said: "I deeply regret to observe 
that you seem entirely to have misapprehended my 
position, which I supposed had been clearly stated in 
my message. I have inctirred, and shall incur, any 
reasonable risk ... to prevent a collision. . . . Hence I 
have declined for the present to reinforce these forts, 
relying upon the honor of the South-Carolinians that they 
will not be assaulted whilst they remain in their present 
condition; but that commissioners will be sent by the 
convention to treat with Congress on the subject." ^ 

December i8th the President sent Caleb Gushing with 
a letter to Governor Pickens, with the idea of inducing 
the authorities and people of South Carolina to await the 
action of Congress and the development of opinion in the 
North as to the recommendation of his message. Gov- 
ernor Pickens told Gushing, December 20th, the day of 
the passage of the ordinance of secession, that he would 
make no reply to the letter, and stated "very candidly 
that there was no hope for the Union, and that, as far as 
he was concerned, he intended to maintain the separate 
independence of South Carolina." ^ 

III 

THE FORT SUMTER CRISIS (dEC. 2, 1860-JAN. 8, 1861) 

The question of the United States forts was now upper- 
most, and upon the action regarding them hung war or 

^ Curtis, Buchanan, II, 385. The emphasis is Buchanan's. 
2 Governor's message to legislature, quoted by Crawford, Fort 
Sumter, 87. 

250 



FORT SUMTER 

peace. Three commissioners — Robert W. Barnwell, 
James H. Adams, and James L. Orr — were appointed by 
South Carolina to lay the ordinance of secession before 
the President and Congress, and were empowered as 
agents of the state to treat for the delivery of the forts 
and other real estate, for the apportionment of the 
public debt, and for a division of all the property of the 
United States.^ 

In apprehension of the occupation of Sumter by An- 
derson, a patrol by two small steamers, the Nina and 
General Clinch, was established, with orders to prevent 
such action at all hazards and seize Fort Sumter if it 
should be attempted. A Lieutenant-Colonel Green was 
sent to Fort Monroe to observe any movements; and 
one Norris, at Norfolk, was employed to give information 
of any action at the Norfolk navy-yard. A committee of 
prominent men was sent to Fort Sumter, who thoroughly 
inspected the works and reported upon them. 

Meantime, Major Anderson had been preparing, with 
great caution and foresight, to move his command. For 
some ten days the officers had been apprised that it was 
advisable to send the families of the men to the unoccu- 
pied barracks on James' Island, known as Fort Johnson, 
a mile and a quarter west of Sumter. The work of 
mounting guns at Sumter had been discontinued for 
three days, and the elevating - screws and pintle -bolts 
sent to Moultrie so that the guns should not be used if 
the South-Carolinians should anticipate his action, and 
also to give the impression that occupancy of the fort 
was not designed. All stores and provisions at Fort 
Moultrie which could be carried, and personal belong- 
ings, except what the men could carry in their knap- 
sacks, were loaded as for Fort Johnson in the two small 
sailing-vessels which were to carry the women and children. 

Christmas Day had been fixed for the transfer, but 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. iii. 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

heavy rains prevented. The delay might have had 
other consequences, for, curiously enough, on the morn- 
ing of December 26th, Colonel R. B. Rhett, Jr., waited 
upon the governor, with a private warning letter from 
Washington to the effect that Anderson was about to 
seize Sumter, and urged the governor to secure it.^ 

All was made ready on December 26th, and the quarter- 
master who was to have charge of the little flotilla, loaded 
with "everything in the household line from boxes and 
barrels of provisions to cages of canary-birds," was di- 
rected to go to Fort Johnson, but not to land anything. 
Upon a signal of two guns from Moultrie he was to go to 
Sumter on the plea that he had to report to Anderson 
that he could not find accommodations. Five pulling- 
boats in customary use were available for the transporta- 
tion of the men. Only one officer had been thus far in- 
formed, and the men had no suspicion where they were 
to go when they fell in at retreat roll-call with packed 
knapsacks and filled cartridge-boxes, carried at parade 
under a general standing order. So little was the move- 
ment suspected that Captain Doubleday, second in com- 
mand, came at sunset to Anderson in the midst of the 
officers to invite the major to tea. He was then in- 
formed of Anderson's intentions, and was directed to 
have his company in readiness in twenty minutes, an 
order met by an "eager obedience." Part of this time 
was taken in arranging for the safety of Mrs. Doubleday 
in the village outside of the fort, whither the families of 
the other officers were also sent. The men were ready 
promptly, and the first detachment of twenty, led by 
Anderson himself, marched over the quarter of a mile of 
sand to the landing-place with the good-fortune of en- 
countering, no one. 

Anderson went in the leading boat. Lieutenant 
Meade, the engineer in charge of the works at Castle 

* Crawford, Fort Sumter, 91. 
252 



FORT SUMTER 

Pinckney, had charge of the second, and Captain Double- 
day of the third. When half-way across, Doubleday's 
boat came unexpectedly in the path of one of the patrol 
boats, the General Clinch, which was towing a schooner 
to sea. The men were ordered to take off their coats 
and cover their muskets. The steamer stopped, but in 
the twilight, and with the resemblance of the boat and 
its load of men to the usual parties of workmen, sus- 
picion was not aroused, and the steamer resumed her 
way without questioning. She had been anxiously 
watched from Moultrie, and had she interfered would 
have been fired upon by a thirty-two-pounder, two of 
which had been loaded with that intent. Captain Foster, 
with Assistant Surgeon Crawford, a Mr. Moall, four non- 
commissioned officers, and seven privates, had been left 
at Moultrie to spike the guns, burn the gun-carriages, and 
hew down the flag- staff. ^ 

On reaching Sumter, the workmen, some hundred and 
fifty, swarmed to the wharf, some feebly cheering, many 
angrily demanding the reason for the presence of the 
soldiers; many of the workmen wore the secession cock- 
ade; the malecontents (a number of whom shortly re- 
turned to Charleston) quickly gave way before the bay- 
onets of Doubleday's men, who at once occupied the 
main entrance and guard-room; sentries were posted 
and the fort was under military control. Boats were 
now sent back for Captain Seymour's company, which 
arrived without interference, and the whole force, except 
the few detailed to remain at Moultrie, was in Sumter 
before eight o'clock, at which hour Anderson wrote the 
Adjutant-General, reporting that he had " just completed, 
by the blessing of God, the removal to this fort of all 
my garrison. . . . The step which I have taken was, in 
my opinion, necessary to prevent the effusion of blood." ^ 
On the firing of the signal-guns at Moultrie, Lieutenant 

^ Crawford, Fort Sumter, chap. x. 

2 War Records, Serial No. i, p. 2. 

253 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Hall left the west side of the bay with the two lighters 
carrying the men's families and stores, and reached 
Sumter under sail. 

With the hdp of the engineer's workmen at Moultrie, 
the boats were loaded during the night with part of the 
impedimenta of every sort which had to be left in the 
first crossing, and reached Sumter in the early dawn. 
The following day, December 27th, was passed like the 
preceding night, in transferring ammunition and other 
stores to Sumter; but a month and a half's supply of 
provisions, some fuel, and personal effects had to be left. 
All the guns at Moultrie were spiked, and the carriages 
of those bearing on Sumter burned, the smoke from these 
bearing to Charleston the first indication of what had 
happened. At fifteen minutes before noon the com- 
mand and one hundred and fifty workmen were formed 
in a square near the flag-staff of Sumter; the chaplain 
offered a prayer expressing gratitude for their safe arrival, 
and prayed that the flag might never be dishonored, but 
soon float again over the whole country, a peaceful and 
prosperous nation. "When the prayer was finished, 
Major Anderson, who had been kneeling, arose, the bat- 
talion presented arms, the band played the national air, 
and the flag went to the head of the flag-staff, amid the 
loud and earnest huzzas of the command." ^ 

Intense excitement in Charleston was the natural out- 
come of Anderson's action, and the morning of the 27th 
the governor sent his aide-de-camp. Colonel Pettigrew, 
accompanied by Major Capers, with a peremptory de- 
mand that Anderson should return with his garrison to 
Moultrie, to which Anderson replied, "Make my compli- 
ments to the governor and say to him that I decline to 
accede to his request; I cannot and will not go back." 
The governor's messenger mentioned that when Gover- 
nor Pickens came into office he found an understanding 

^Crawford, Fort Sumter, 112. 
254 



^^^^>^^^^fc^^ 


^K^^ ^^ ^ 


^^^^^^^M 


^Kc^^/^ 


i^ 


/ ^ 


a "" 


^^ ^ 


1 


/'^^^ 


Jl 


'/ ^^ 






n 




[ 1 


5 


ib',^ 






SERGEANT HART NAILING THE COLORS TO THE FLAG-STAFF, FORT 

SUMTER 



FORT SUMTER 

between his predecessor (Gist) and the President, by 
which the status in the harbor was to remain unchanged. 
Anderson stated "that he knew nothing of it; that he 
could get no information or positive orders from Wash- 
ington ; . . . that he had reason to beHeve that [the state 
troops] meant to land and attack him from the north; 
that the desire of the governor to have the matter settled 
peaceably and without bloodshed was precisely his own 
object in transferring his command; . . . that he did it 
upon his own responsibility alone," as safety required it, 
''and as he had the right to do." He added that, "In 
this controversy between the North and the South, my 
sympathies are entirely with the South, " but that a 
sense of duty to his trust was first. ^ The immediate re- 
sult was the occupancy by the state forces, December 
27th, of Pinckney and Moultrie; the seizure, December 
30th, of the unoccupied barracks known as Fort Johnson, 
and of the arsenal, with its ordnance and ordnance stores, 
valued at four hundred thousand dollars. 

The news of Anderson's dramatic, bold, and self-reliant 
act, one for which the country owes a debt to the memory 
of this upright and excellent commander, brought con- 
sternation to the President and Secretary of War, who 
learned it through the indefatigable Trescot, who had, 
on the 26th, arranged for the three commissioners of 
South Carolina an interview with the President for De- 
cember 27th, at one o'clock. The news of the morning 
brought a complete change of circumstances. A tele- 
gram to Wigfall was brought by him to the commissioners 
and to the Secretary of War, who at once went to the 
commissioners. Trescot was present, and could not be- 
lieve in an "act not only without orders but in the face 
of orders." Floyd at once telegraphed, asking an ex- 
planation of the report. "It is not believed, because 
there is no order for any such movement." A telegram 

■* Crawford, i^or^ Sumter, iro, in. 

255 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

in reply from Anderson assured him of the truth, and a 
written report gave as reasons that "many things con- 
vinced me that the authorities of the state designed to 
proceed to a hostile act. Under this impression I could 
not hesitate that it was my solemn duty to move my 
command from a fort which we could not have held 
probably longer than forty-eight or sixty hours to this 
one where my power of resistance is increased to a very 
great degree." ^ 

[In January a futile attempt to relieve Fort Sumter was 
made by sending from New York two hundred troops in 
an unarmed steamer, The Star of the West, which was 
fired upon by the secessionists in Fort Moultrie, and, 
receiving no support from Fort Sumter, returned to 
New York.] 

IV 

THE FALL OF FORT SUMTER (APRIL, 1861) 

Lamon's ^ officiousness resulted in giving both to 
Anderson and to the Confederate authorities an im- 
pression that Sumter would surely be evacuated; hence 
Beauregard, March 26th, wrote to Anderson offering 
facilities for removal, but asking his word of honor that 
the fort would be left without any preparation for its 
destruction or injury. This demand deeply wounded 
Anderson, and he resented it in a letter of the same date, 
saying, " If I can only be permitted to leave on the pledge 
you mention, I shall never, so help me God, leave this 
fort alive." ^ Beauregard hastened to state that he had 
only alluded to the "pledge" on account of the "high 
source" from which the rumors appeared to come, and 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 3. 

2 Ward H. Lamon, a former law partner of President Lincoln, 
who visited Charleston at this time and assumed to be a repre- 
sentative of the President. — [Editor.] 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 222. 

256 



FORT SUMTER 

made a full amend, which re-established their usual 
relations. 

Anderson had informed Fox that, by placing the com- 
mand on a short allowance, he could make the provisions 
last until after April i oth ; but not receiving instructions 
from the War Department that it was desirable to do so, 
it had not been done/ He had already reported, March 
31st, that his last barrel of flour had been issued two 
days before.^ 

Anderson's little command, as he explained to Wash- 
ington April I St, would now face starvation should the 
daily supply of fresh meat and vegetables, still allowed 
from Charleston, be cut off. Being in daily expectation, 
since the return of Colonel Lamon to Washington, of re- 
ceiving orders to vacate the post, he had, to the great 
disadvantage of the food supply, kept the engineer la- 
borers as long as he could. He now asked permission to 
send them from Sumter; but the request, referred to 
Montgomery April 2d by Beauregard, was refused, unless 
all the garrison should go.^ " 

April I St an ice-laden schooner bound for Savannah 
entered Charleston harbor by mistake, ^ and was fired 
upon by a Morris Island battery. Again the Sumter 
batteries were manned and a consultation held, at which 
five of the eight officers declared in favor of opening fire, 
but no action was taken by Anderson beyond sending an 
officer to the offending battery, from which word was 
returned by its commanding officer that he was simply 
carrying out his orders to fire upon any vessel carrying 
the United States colors which attempted to enter. 

On April 4th Anderson assembled his officers, and for 
the first time made known to them the orders of January 
loth and February 23d, directing him to act strictly on 
the defensive. As Lieutenant Talbot had just been pro- 
moted captain and ordered to Washington, Anderson 

* War Records, Serial No. i,p. 230. 

Ubid., 228. ^ Ibid., 284, 285. 

257 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

determined to send by him his despatches. In order to 
arrange for his departure, Talbot, April 4th, accompanied 
Lieutenant Snyder, under a white flag, to call the atten- 
tion of the governor to the fact that the schooner fired 
upon had not been warned by one of their own vessels, 
as had been arranged. It developed that the guard- 
vessel on duty had come in on account of heavy weather, 
and the commanding officer was consequently dismissed. 
The request to allow Talbot to proceed brought out the 
fact that orders had been received from Montgomery not 
to allow any portion of the garrison to leave the fort 
unless all should go^ — which, however, Beauregard con- 
strued, for the benefit of Talbot, to apply more particularly 
to laborers and enlisted men^ — and also that the follow- 
ing telegram from Commissioner Crawford had reached 
Charleston April ist: "I am authorized to say that this 
government will not undertake to supply Sumter with- 
out notice to you. My opinion is that the President has 
not the courage to execute the order agreed upon in 
Cabinet for the evacuation of the fort, but that he intends 
to shift the responsibility upon Major Anderson by suffer- 
ing him to be starved out. Would it not be well to aid 
in this by cutting off all supplies?"^ Beauregard had, 
the same day, sent the message to the Confederate Secre- 
tary of War, with the remark, " Batteries here ready 
to open Wednesday or Thursday. What instructions?" 
The knowledge of these telegrams called from Ander- 
son, April 5th, a pathetic despatch to the War Depart- 
ment: "I cannot but think Mr. Crawford has misunder- 
stood what he has heard in Washington, as I cannot think 
the government could abandon, without instructions and 
without advice, a command which has tried to do all 
its duty to our country." He ended a fervent appeal 
for this act of justice with, " Unless we receive supplies 

^ War Records, Serial No. i,p. 285. 

2 Crawford, Fort Sumter, 377. 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 283. 
258 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

I shall be compelled to stay here without food or to 
abandon this post very early next week." ^ "At this 
time," says Doubleday, "the seeming indifference of the 
politicians to our fate made us feel like orphan children 
of the Republic, deserted by both the State and Federal 
administration." ^ 

Two days later Anderson received a letter of April 4th 
from the Secretary of War, informing him of the govern- 
ment's purpose to send the Fox expedition, and hoping 
that he would be able to sustain himself until the nth 
or i2th.^ The same day he was informed by the Con- 
federate authorities that the supply of provisions had 
been stopped, and late that evening that no mails coming 
or going would be allowed to pass. The fort was to be 
"completely isolated." This action was undoubtedly 
taken at this moment in consequence of a telegram from 
Washington sent Magrath April 6th, as follows: "Posi- 
tively determined not to withdraw Anderson. Supplies 
go immediately, supported by naval force under String- 
ham if their landing be resisted." This telegram, signed 
"A Friend," was, as later became known, from James E. 
Harvey, who was about to go as United States minister 
to Portugal. It was sent to Montgomery, and had its 
full effect.^ 

Just before the reception of the information regarding 
the stoppage of mails, Anderson had posted his acknowl- 
edgment of the War Department's letter of the 4th and 
a report by Foster to the chief-engineer of the army; 
both letters were opened by the Confederate authorities, 
and gave full confirmation of the accuracy of the tele- 
gram from "A Friend." Anderson said that "the re- 
sumption of work yesterday (Sunday) at various points 
on Morris Island, and the vigorous prosecution of it this 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 241. 
2 Doubleday, Sumter and Moultrie, 98. 
2 War Records, Serial No. i, p. 235. 
* Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, IV, 31, 32. 
260 



FORT SUMTER 

morning, . . . shows that they have either received some 
news from Washington which has put them on the qui 
vive, or that they have received orders from Montgomery 
to commence operations here. I fear " that Fox's attempt 
"cannot fail to be disastrous to all concerned. . . , We 
have not oil enough to keep a light in lanterns for one 
night. The boats will have therefore to rely at night 
entirely upon other marks. I ought to have been in- 
formed that this expedition was to come. Colonel La- 
mon's remark conviriced me that the idea merely hinted 
at to me by Captain Fox would not be carried out. We 
shall strive to do our duty, though I frankly say that 
my heart is not in the war which I see is to be thus 
commenced." ^ 

As shown by despatches which Anderson had no 
means of sending, and carried north, eight guard-boats 
and signal-vessels were on duty out far beyond the bar; 
a fourth gun had been added to the new battery on Sulli- 
van's Island, which had until the 8th been masked by 
a house now torn down, and which bore directly upon 
any boat attempting to land stores on the left bank. 
There was bread enough to last, using half -rations, until 
dinner-time Friday (12th). Anderson reported the com- 
mand in fine spirits. It was evident that a hostile force 
was expected. The iron-clad floating battery appeared 
the morning of the nth at the west end of Sullivan's 
Island. Anderson, in ignorance that his own intercepted 
letter and Harvey's telegram had given them all they 
needed to know, said: "Had they been in possession of 
the information contained in your letter of the 4th in- 
stant they could not have made bette arrangements 
than these they have made and are making to thwart 
the contemplated scheme." ^ 

Chew, who, as mentioned, had been selected as the 
messenger to carry to Charleston the notice of the Presi- 

' War Records, Serial No. i, p. 294. 
^ Ibid., 249-251. 

261 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AM.ERICA 

dent's intention to attempt to provision Sumter, left 
Washington Saturday, April 6th, at 6 p.m., in com- 
pany with Captain Talbot, and reached Charleston forty- 
eight hours later; finding no action taken against Sumter, 
he delivered a copy of his memorandum to the governor, 
who called General Beauregard into the consultation. 
Captain Talbot's request to join the garrison at Sumter 
was referred to Beauregard, and peremptorily refused, 
Beauregard remarking that the instructions from Mont- 
gomery required that no communication whatever should 
be permitted with Anderson except to convey an order for 
the evacuation of the fort.^ The return of the envoys 
to Washington was much delayed by disarrangement of 
trains by order of Beauregard, who also held all tele- 
grams from Chew to Lincoln.^ 

Sumter now mounted fifty-nine guns, twenty-seven 
of the heaviest of which were in barbette (the upper 
and open tier) . In the lowest tier there were also twenty- 
seven, four of which were forty-two-pounders and the re- 
mainder thirty-two's. The ports of the second (or middle 
tier), eight feet square, were closed by a three-foot brick 
wall, laid in cement and backed in twenty-seven of the 
more exposed by two feet of sand kept in place by planks 
or barrels. On the parade were one lo-inch and four 8-inch 
guns, mounted as howitzers, the former to throw shells 
into Charleston, the latter into the batteries on Cummings 
Point. The guns bearing upon the three batteries on 
the west end of Sullivan's Island were ten thirty-two- 
pounders; on Fort Moultrie, two forty-three-pounders. 
Five guns bore upon the mortar battery at Fort Johnson. 
Seven hundred cartridges had been made up, material of 
every kind, even the woollen shirts of the men, being used.^ 

Bearing upon Fort Sumter there were on Sullivan's Island 
three 8-inch, two thirty- two-pounders, and six twenty-four- 

^Talbot's report, in War Records, Serial No. i, p. 251. 
2 RQjnan, Beauregard, 1, 33. 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, pp. 12-25, 213-216. 
262 



FORT SUMTER 

pounders in Fort Moultrie; two thirty-two-pounders and 
two twenty-four-pounders in the new enfilade battery ; one 
9-inch, two forty-two-pounders, and two thirty- two-pound- 
ers at the Point and aboard the floating battery, and six 
lo-inch mortars; on Morris Island, two forty-two-pounders, 
one twelve-pounder Blakely rifle, three 8-inch guns, and 
seven lo-inch mortars; at Fort Johnson, one twenty-four- 
pounder and four lo-inch mortars; at Mount Pleasant, one 
lo-inch mortar: a total of twenty-seven guns and eighteen 
mortars.^ The latter were particularly to be feared, as 
mortar fire under the conditions of a fixed target and per- 
fectly established distances is extremely accurate. The in- 
terior of the fort was thus as vulnerable as the exterior. 

Governor Pickens at once sent to Montgomery a tele- 
gram reporting the visit of the President's messenger. 
A lengthy discussion ensued in the Confederate Cabinet. 
Toombs, the Secretary of State, said: "The firing upon 
that fort will inaugurate a civil war greater than any the 
world has yet seen; and I do not feel competent to ad- 
vise you." ^ In the state of Southern feeling, however, 
the only thing possible was for Secretary Walker to order 
Beauregard, April loth, " If you have no doubt of the 
authorized character of the agent who communicated to 
you the intention of the Washington government to 
supply Sumter by force, you will at once demand its 
evacuation, and if this is refused proceed, in such manner 
as you may determine, to reduce it." ^ Beauregard an- 
swered the same day, "The demand will be made to-mor- 
row at twelve o'clock." To this came reply from Mont- 
gomery, " Unless there, are special reasons connected with 
your own condition, it is considered proper that you 
should make the demand at an earlier date." Beaure- 
gard replied (all these of the same date, the loth), "The 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, pp. 25-58. 

2 Statement of Ex-Confederate Secretary of War to writer; 
Crawford, Fort Sumter, 421. 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 297. 

263 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

reasons are special for twelve o'clock."^ These impera- 
tive "reasons" proved to be shortness of powder, then on 
its way, and which arrived from Augusta, Georgia, that 
evening,^ and the placing of a new rifled twelve-pounder. 

Shortly after noon, April nth, a boat bearing a white 
flag and three officers, the senior being Colonel James 
Chesnut, recently a United States senator, pushed off 
from a Charleston wharf and arrived at Sumter at half- 
past three. The officers being conducted to Anderson, 
a demand for the evacuation of the work was delivered. 
The officers of the fort were summoned, and after an 
hour's discussion it was determined, without dissent, to 
refuse the demand, and a written refusal was sent, in 
which Anderson regretted that his sense of honor and 
his obligations to his government prevented his com- 
pliance.^ Anderson accompanied the messengers as far 
as the main gate, where he asked, "Will General Beaure- 
gard open his batteries without further notice to me?" 
Colonel Chesnut replied, "I think not," adding, "No, I 
can say to you that he will not, without giving you 
further notice." On this Anderson unwisely remarked 
that he would be starved out anyway in a few days if 
Beauregard did not batter him to pieces with his guns. 
Chesnut asked if he might report this to Beauregard. 
Anderson declined to give it such character, but said it 
was the fact.* 

This information, telegraphed to Montgomery, elicited 
the reply: "Do not desire needlessly to bombard Fort 
Sumter. If Major Anderson will state the time at which, 
as indicated by him, he will evacuate, and agree that in 
the mean time he will not use his guns against us unless 
ours should be employed against Sumter, you are au- 
thorized thus to avoid the effusion of blood. If this or 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 297. 
^ Crawford, Fort Sumter, 422. 
^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 13. 
*Ibid., 59; Crawford, Fort Sumter, 424. 
264 



FORT SUMTER 

its equivalent be refused, reduce the fort as your judg- 
ment decides to be most practicable." ^ 

A second note from Beauregard was presented that 
night, and after a conference with his officers of three 
hours, in which the question of food was the main con- 
sideration, Anderson replied, " I will, if provided with 
proper and necessary means of transportation, evacuate 
Fort Sumter by noon on the 15 th instant . . . should I 
not receive prior to that time controlling instructions 
from my government or additional supplies." The 
terms of the reply were considered by the messengers 
"manifestly futile," and at 3.20 a.m. of the 12th the fol- 
lowing note was handed by Beauregard's aides, Chesnut 
and Lee, to Anderson: "By authority of Brigadier- 
General Beauregard, commanding the provisional forces 
of the Confederate States, we have the honor to notify 
you that he will open the fire of his batteries on Fort 
Sumter in one hour from this time." ^ 

Meantime Fox, intrusted with the general charge of 
the relief expedition, was sent by the President, March 
30th, to New York, with verbal instructions to prepare 
for the voyage but to make no binding engagements. 
Not having received the written authority expected, he 
returned to Washington April 2d, and on the 4th the 
final decision was reached, and Fox was informed that 
a messenger would be sent to the authorities at Charles- 
ton to notify them of the President's action. Fox men- 
tioned to the President that he would have but nine 
days to charter vessels and reach Charleston, six hundred 
and thiry-two miles distant. He arrived at New York 
April 5th, bearing an order from General Scott to Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel H. L. Scott (son-in-law and aide-de-camp 
to the general-in-chief ) , embracing all his wants and di- 
recting Colonel Scott to give in his name all necessary 
instructions. Colonel Scott ridiculed the idea of relief, 

^ War Records, Serial No. i, p. 301. 

2 Crawford, Fort Sumter, 425, 426. 

265 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

and his indifference caused the loss of half a day of 
precious time, besides furnishing recruits who, Fox com- 
plained, were "totally unfit" for the service they were 
sent on.^ 

Fox at once engaged the large steamer Baltic for troops 
and stores, and, after great difficulty, obtained three 
tugs, the Uncle Ben, Freeborn, and Yankee, the last fitted 
to throw hot water. The Pocahontas, Pawnee, and the 
revenue-cutter Harriet Lane, as already mentioned, were 
to be a part of the force, which thus, with the Powhatan, 
included four armed vessels, the last being of considerable 
power. The Pawnee, Commander Rowan, sailed from 
Washington the 9th; the Pocahontas, Captain Gillis, 
from Norfolk the loth; the Harriet Lane, Captain Faunce, 
from New York the 8th ; the Baltic, Captain Fletcher, the 
9th. The Powhatan was already far on her way to 
Pensacola. 

The Baltic arrived at the rendezvous, ten miles east 
of Charleston bar, at 3 a.m. of the 12th, and found there 
the Harriet Lane; at six the Pawnee arrived; the Pow- 
hatan was not visible. The Baltic, followed by the 
Harriet Lane, stood in toward the land, where heavy 
guns were heard and the smoke and shells from the bat- 
teries which had opened that morning on Sumter were 
distinctly visible. Fox stood out to inform Rowan, of 
the Pawnee. Rowan asked for a pilot, declaring his in- 
tention of going in and sharing the fate of his brethren 
of the army. Fox went aboard the Pawnee and informed 
him that he would answer for it that the government did 
not expect such a sacrifice, having settled maturely upon 
the policy in instructions to Captain Mercer and himself. 
The Nashville, from New York, and a number of merchant 
vessels off the bar, gave the appearance of the presence of 
a large naval fleet. 

The weather continued very bad, with a heavy sea. 

^ Naval War Records, IV, 248. 
266 



FORT SUMTER 

No tugboats had arrived; the tug Freeborn did not leave 
New York; the Uncle Ben was driven into Wilmington 
by the gale ; the Yankee did not arrive off Charleston bar 
until April 15th, too late for any service; neither the 
Pawnee nor the Harriet Lane had boats or men to carry 
supplies; the Baltic stood out to the rendezvous and 
signalled all night for the expected Powhatan. The next 
morning, the 13th, was thick and foggy, with a heavy 
ground-swell, and the Baltic, feeling her way in, touched 
on Rattlesnake Shoal, but without damage; a great 
volume of black smoke was seen from Sumter. No tug- 
boats had yet arrived, and a schooner near by, loaded 
with ice, was seized and preparations made to load her 
for entering the following night. Going aboard the 
Pawnee, Fox now learned that a note from Captain 
Mercer of the Powhatan mentioned that he had been 
detached by superior authority and that the ship 
had gone elsewhere; though Fox had left New York 
two days later than the Powhatan, he had no intima- 
tion of the change. At 2 p.m., April 13th, the Poca- 
hontas arrived, and the squadron, powerless for relief, 
through the absence of the Powhatan and the tugs, 
was obliged to witness the progress of the bombard- 
ment.^ 

** About 4 A,M. on the twelfth," says Doubleday, "I 
was awakened by some one groping about my room in 
the dark and calling out my name." This was Ander- 
son, who had come to inform his second in command of 
the information just received of the intention of the 
Confederates to open fire an hour later. ^ At 4.30, the 
Confederates being able to make out the outline of the 
fort, a gun at Fort Johnson was fired as the signal to 
open; the first shotted gun was then fired from Morris 
Island by Edmund Rufhn, an aged secessionist from Vir- 
ginia, who had long, in pamphlet and speech, advocated 

^ Fox's report, in Naval War Records, IV, 245-251. 
2 Doubleday, Sumter and Moultrie, 142. 
267 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

separation from the Union. The fire from the batteries 
at once became general. 

The fort began its return at seven o'clock. All the 
officers and men, including the engineers, had been di- 
vided into three reliefs of two hours each, and the forty- 
three workmen yet remaining all volunteered for duty. 
It was, however, an absurdly meagre force to work such 
a number of guns and to be pitted against the surround- 
ing batteries, manned by more than six thousand men. 
The number of cartridges was so reduced by the middle 
of the day, though the six needles available were kept 
steadily at work in making cartridge - bags, that the 
firing had to slacken and be confined to the six guns 
bearing toward Moultrie and the batteries on the west 
end of Sullivan's Island. The mortar fire had become 
very accurate, so that, when the 13 -inch shells "came 
down in a vertical direction and buried themselves in 
the parade-ground, their explosion shook the fort like 
an earthquake." ^ The horizontal fire also grew in ac- 
curacy, and Anderson, to save his men, withdrew them 
from the barbette guns and used those of the lower tiers 
only. Unfortunately, these were of too light a caliber to 
be effective against the Morris Island batteries, the shot 
rebounding without effect from the face of the iron-clad 
battery there, as well as from the floating iron-clad bat- 
tery moored behind the sea-wall at Sullivan's Island. 
The withdrawal of the men from the heavier battery could 
only be justified by the already foregone result, and no 
doubt this was in Anderson's mind. The garrison was 
reduced to pork and water, and, however willing, it could 
not with such meagre food withstand the strain of the 
heavy labor of working the guns ; to add to the difficulties, 
the guns, strange to say, were not provided with breech- 
sights, and these had to be improvised with notched sticks.^ 

The shells from the batteries set fire to the barracks 

* Doubleday, Sumter and Moultrie, 147. "^ Ibid. 

268 



FORT SUMTER 

three times during the day, and the precision of the verti- 
cal fire was such that the four 8-inch and one lo-inch 
columbiad, planted in the parade, could not be used. 
Half the shells fired from the seventeen mortars en- 
gaged came within, or exploded above, the parapet of 
the fort, and only about ten buried themselves in the 
soft earth of the parade without exploding. Two of the 
barbette guns were struck by the fire from Moultrie, 
which also damaged greatly the roof of the barracks and 
the stair towers. None of the shot came through. The 
day closed stormy and with a high tide, without any 
material damage to the strength of the fort. Through- 
out the night the Confederate batteries threw shell every 
ten or fifteen minutes. The garrison was occupied until 
midnight in making cartridge - bags, for which all the 
extra clothing was cut up and all the coarse paper and 
extra hospital sheets used.^ 

At daylight, April 13th, all the batteries again opened, 
and the new twelve-pounder Blakely rifle, which had 
arrived but four days before from abroad,^ caused the 
wounding of a sergeant and three men by the fragments 
thrown off from the interior of the wall by its deep pene- 
tration. An engineer employed was severely wounded 
by a fragment of shell. Hot shot now became frequent, 
and at nine o'clock the officers' quarters were set afire. 
As it was evident the fire would soon surround the maga- 
zine, every one not at the guns was employed to get out 
powder; but only fifty barrels could be removed to the 
casements, when it became necessary from the spread 
of the flames to close the magazine. The whole range 
of the officers' quarters was soon in flames, and the 
clouds of smoke and cinders sent into the casements set 
on fire many of the men's beds and boxes, making the 
retention of the powder so dangerous that all but five 
barrels were thrown into the sea.^ 

^ Foster's report, in War Records, Serial No. i, pp. 20, 21. 
2 War Records, Serial No. i, p. 293. 3 /5^"^_^ 22. 

269 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

By eleven o'clock the fire and smoke were driven by 
the wind in such masses into the point where the men 
had taken refuge that suffocation appeared imminent. 
"The roaring and crackling of the flames, the dense 
masses of whirling smoke, the bursting of the enemy's 
shells, and our own, which were exploding in the burning 
rooms, the crashing of the shot and the sound of masonry 
falling in every direction made the fort a pandemonium- 
. . . There was a tower at each angle of the fort. One of 
these, containing great quantities of shells, . . . was almost 
completely shattered by successive explosions. The 
massive wooden gates, studded with iron nails, were 
burned, and the wall built behind them was now a heap 
of debris, so that the main entrance was wide open for 
an assaulting party." ^ 

But however great the apparent damage and the dis- 
comfort and danger while the fire lasted, the firing could 
have been resumed ' ' as soon as the walls cooled sufficient- 
ly to open the magazines, and then, having blown down 
the wall projecting above the parapet, so as to get rid 
of the flying bricks, and built up the main gates with 
stones and rubbish, the fort would actually have been 
in a more defensible condition than when the action 
commenced." ^ 

But want of men, want of food, and want of powder 
together made a force majeure against which further 
strife was useless; and when, about i p.m., the flag- 
staff was shot away, though the flag was at once flown 
from an improvised staff, a boat was sent from the com- 
manding officer at Morris Island, bringing Colonel (Ex- 
Senator) Wigfall and a companion bearing a white flag, 
to inquire if the fort had surrendered. 

Being allowed entrance. Major Anderson was sought 
for, and Wigfall, using Beauregard's name, offered Ander- 
son his own terms. Wigfall exhibited a white handker- 

^ Doubleday, Sumter and Moultrie, 158. 
2 Foster's report, in War Records, Serial No. i, p. 24. 
270 



FORT SUMTER 

chief from the parapet, and this being noticed brought 
from Beauregard himself Colonel Chesnut, Colonel Roger 
A. Pryor, Colonel William Porcher Miles, and Captain 
Lee, followed soon by Beauregard's adjutant -general, 
Jones, Ex-Governor Manning, and Colonel Alston. It 
transpired that Wigfall had not seen Beauregard for 
two days, and that his visit was wholly unauthorized. 
The proper authorities, however, being now at hand, ar- 
rangements were concluded at 7 p.m., Anderson sur- 
rendering (after some correspondence), with permission 
to salute the flag as it was hauled down, to march out 
with colors flying and drvmis beating and with arms 
and private baggage.^ 

Noticing the disappearance of the colors, a flag of truce 
was sent in from the squadron outside, and arrangements 
made for carrying the garrison north. Next morning, 
Sunday, April 14th, with a salute of fifty guns, the flag 
was finally hauled down. It had been Anderson's in- 
tention to fire a hundred gtms, but a lamentable accident 
occurred in the premature discharge of one, by which 
one man was killed, another mortally wounded, and four 
others seriously injured. This accident delayed the de- 
parture until 4 P.M., when the little company of some 
eighty men, accompanied by the forty laborers,^ marched 
out of the gate with their flags flying and drums beating. 
The steamer Isabel carried Anderson and his men to the 
Baltic, and at nightfall they were on their way north. 

April 15th, the day after the surrender, the President 
issued his proclamation calling "forth the militia of the 
several states of the Union" to the number of seventy- 
five thousand men, in order to suppress "combinations 
too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of 
judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the 
marshals by law," and "to cause the laws to be duly 

' Foster's report, in War Records, Serial No. 1, pp. 23, 24. 
' Doubleday, Sumter and Moultrie, App., where the names 
appear. 

xS 271 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

executed." Congress was called to convene July 4th. 
An immediate effect of the proclamation was the secession 
of Virginia, April 17th, the conservative elements of the 
state convention, although in the majority, being over- 
whelmed by the enthusiasm and impetus of the seces- 
sion attack. Another prompt result was the formation 
of the northwestern counties into what is now West 
Virginia. 

Fox's expedition, however abortive in a physical 
sense, did much more than attempt to succor Sumter; 
it was the instrument through which the fort was held 
to the accomplishment of the fateful mistake of the 
Confederacy in striking the first blow. It prevented the 
voluntary yielding of the fort, and was an exhibition of 
the intention of the government to hold its own. It was 
thus elemental in its eifects. Had Anderson withdrawn 
and hauled down his flag without a shot from the South, 
it would have been for the Federal government to strike 
the first blow of war; and its call for men would have 
met with a different response to that which came from 
the electric impulse which the firing upon the flag caused 
to vibrate through the North. This expectation was the 
basis of Lincoln's determination. Almost alone, unmov- 
able by Cabinet or War Department, he saw with the cer- 
tainty of the seer what holding Sumter meant, and con- 
tinued on the unchangeable way which from the first 
he had taken. In his letter of sympathy to Fox, May ist, 
he said: "You and I both anticipated that the cause of 
the country would be advanced by making the attempt 
to provision Fort Sumter, even if it should fail, and it is 
no small consolation now to feel that our anticipation is 
justified by the result." ^ 

The enthusiastic response of the North to the proc- 
lamation was witness to the truth of Lincoln's view, as 
well as to the North's determination that the offended 

^ Naval War Records, IV, 251. 
272 



FORT SUMTER 

dignity of the Union should be avenged, its strongholds 
regained, its boundaries made intact, and that the United 
States be proved to be a nation. It was for this the 
Union fought ; the freeing of the blacks was but a natural 
and necessary incident. The assault upon Sumter was 
the knife driven by the hand of the South itself into the 
vitals of slavery. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 
MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BOMBARDMENT 
OF FORT SUMTER, 1861, AND THE BAT- 
TLE OF THE MONITOR AND THE 
MERRIMAC, 1862 

1 86 1. President Lincoln calls for seventy-five thou- 
sand militia to suppress the rebellion of the Southern 
States. Secession of Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and 
North Carolina. Formal division of Western Virginia 
from Virginia. The Massachusetts militia attacked in 
Baltimore. The Congress of the Confederate States as- 
sembles at Montgomery and is later transferred to Rich- 
mond. The first battle of Bull Run results in a Federal 
repulse. Battle of Wilson's Creek. Repulse of the Fed- 
erals at Ball's Bluff. McClellan succeeds Scott as com- 
mander-in-chief of the Federal armies. The Federals 
gain possession of Port Royal. The Confederate com- 
missioners, Mason and Slidell, are intercepted on the 
British steamer Trent. 

1862. Surrender of the Confederate commissioners. 
Mason and Slidell, to the British government. The 
Federals capture Roanoke Island. Fort Henry and Fort 
Donelson surrender to General Grant. Federal victory 
at Pea Ridge. Engagement between the Monitor and 
the Merrimac. The French declare war against Mexico. 



XVI 

THE BATTLE OF THE MONITOR AND THE MERKIMAC 



A PRELUDE TO THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN OF APRIL TO JUNE, 

1862 

By James Kendall Hosmer 

OBVIOUSLY the capture of Richmond was the 
proper objective in the offensive campaign in the 
East for which McClellan had been so long preparing. 
The selection of that city by the Confederacy for the 
seat of government caused all its interests to centre 
there; the maintenance of its capital, moreover, was 
essential to the good standing of the Confederacy before 
Europe, recognition from which was so earnestly de- 
sired. If the North could capture Richmond, quite 
possibly nothing more would be necessary to crush the 
"South. The protection of Washington, too, could not 
be left at all in doubt. Should that city be lost to the 
Union, England and France might justly feel that the 
cause of the North was hopeless, and no longer refrain 
from intervention. 

Before Washington, McClellan and Johnston faced each 
other throughout the fall of 1861, the latter having, in 
October, a force of 41,000, which later grew to 57,337.^ 
Under Johnston at the end of the year were three sub- 

* J. E. Johnston, Narrative, 84. 
274 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC 

ordinates — ^Jackson, in the Valley of Virginia; Beaure- 
gard, about Leesburg, near the Potomac; and Holmes, 
below Washington, about Acquia Creek, where Confed- 
erate batteries closed the Potomac. McClellan had fully 
twice as many men, an army well disciplined and equipped, 
devoted to their leader, and of fine morale. Why could 
the army not be used? Because the general always 
imagined before him a host of enemies that greatly out- 
numbered his own, and insisted on more men and a more 
perfect training before setting out. Meantime he grew 
cavalier in his treatment of his superiors. The venerable 
Scott, who now retired at seventy-five, had his last days 
embittered by the scant courtesy of the new commander, 
and even the President was slighted. " I will hold 
McClellan' s horse for him if he will only win us victories," 
said Lincoln, with good-natured patience. In December, 
McClellan fell ill, and all was in doubt. With the new 
year, 1862, prospects brightened for the Union. The 
great successes in the West and South, ending with the 
capture of New Orleans, brought cheer; at last the army 
of the Potomac was in motion. 

In March, Johnston withdrew southward; and McClel- 
lan, his command now restricted to the " Army of the 
Potomac," as he had baptized his splendid creation, was 
ready for the long -delayed advance. Lincoln, whose 
good sense when applied to warfare often, though not 
always, struck true, earnestly desired that Richmond 
should be approached by a direct southward movement, 
Washington being covered, while at the same time Rich- 
mond was threatened. But McClellan judged it better 
to proceed by the Chesapeake, landing at the end of the 
peninsula running up between the York and James rivers, 
and marching against Richmond from the east. Much 
could be said in favor of this route: troops and supplies 
could be carried by water to the neighborhood of Rich- 
mond witliout fatigue or danger. Yet the President 
yielded reluctantly, fearing danger to Washington, lay- 

275 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ing it down as fundamental that the capital must be 
protected by forty thousand men. 

The Peninsular campaign had a dramatic prelude. A 
necessary condition was a command of the waters, which 
was secured in early March by an event that startled the 
world. Among the many disadvantages under which 
the South labored in her struggle with the North was a 
painful lack, as compared with her opponent, of factories, 
machine-shops, ship-yards, and skilled labor; yet de- 
termination and ingenuity brought about several wonder- 
ful fighting contrivances, of which the most remarkable 
was the Virginia. The hull of the Merrimac, a frigate of 
thirty-five hundred tons and forty guns, one of the most 
formidable vessels of the old navy, partly burned and 
afterward sunk at the evacuation of Norfolk by the 
Federals in April, 1861, was raised, and found to be 
sound enough for further use. Good heads, among whom 
John M. Brooke, manager of the Tredegar Iron Works 
at Richmond, was prominent, fitted to the hull a case- 
mate, or box, pierced for cannon, and heavily plated with 
iron — the first effective armored ship. There was a 
frank farewell to masts, sails, and other former appliances 
for motion and management. The winds were super- 
seded by steam, applied for the first time in naval war- 
fare, not as auxiliary, but as the sole motive-power. One 
appliance of the Virginia was, however, not a new in- 
vention, but a revival of a fighting arm common in the 
days of Salamis and Actium — a ram, projecting from the 
prow like that of an ancient galley.^ The craft was cum- 
brous, hard to steer, and provided with engines far too 
weak for her immense weight, but she had marvellous 
defensive power and was fast enough to approach and 
destroy any resisting sailing-ship. 

On March 8th, from the direction of Norfolk, the 
Virginia, a mass low-lying upon the water, suddenly ap- 

^ Commander J. M. Brooke, in Battles and Leaders, I, 715; 
Scharf, Navy of the Confederate States, 145 et seq. 

276 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIM AC 

peared before the astonished eyes of the Federal on- 
lookers in Hampton Roads. ^ Five stately wooden frigates 
lay at anchor off Hampton, and they gallantly discharged 
their broadsides at this strange assailant, but the balls 
glanced harmless from her impenetrable back. She 




HAMPTON ROADS 



turned and pierced the Cumberland with her ram, sending 
the frigate to the bottom; then she assailed the Congress^ 
which presently went up in flames; the brave crews as 
helpless as if their means of defence were bows and 
arrows. Mistress of the situation, with three more 
frigates — Minnesota, Roanoke, and St. Lawrence — aground 
on the shoals or offering a futile defiance, the Virginia 
then withdrew for the day ; she was certain of her prey and 
could afford to wait for a few hours, meanwhile making 
some changes which would render her more effective. 
Vivid terror overspread the North as the news was de- 

^ Battles and Leaders, I, 692 et seq. 

277 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

spatched in the evening ; and it was nowhere greater than 
in the cabinet-room at the White House, where Lincoln 
anxiously studied upon means to meet the exigency; and 
Stanton, pacing the room "like a caged lion," predicted 
she would come up the Potomac and shell Washington.* 
On the forenoon of March 9th, doing all things de- 
liberately, as one that has no reason to hasten, the Vir- 
ginia again appeared and moved toward the Minnesota, 
aground and apparently certain to become a helpless 
victim. Suddenly in the path appeared a little craft 
scarcely one-fourth the size of the Virginia, "a cheese- 
box on a raft," as it will go down in history, the Monitor, 
an iron-clad of another pattern. This vessel, undertaken 
as an experiment, and completed in one hundred days, 
was due to the genius and indomitable zeal of John 
Ericsson, its designer. That it should have arrived from 
New York at this moment is one of the fateful accidents 
of history. A multitude beheld the encounter, from 
the ships close at hand, from the shores near and far. 
The superior size and armament of the Virginia were 
neutralized by her unwieldiness and depth of draught. 
The Monitor, more active, and passing everywhere over 
shoal or through channel, could elude or strike as she 
chose. Neither had much power to harm the other; 
each crew behind its shield manoeuvred and fired for the 
most part uninjured. Worden, commander of the Moni- 
tor, in his pilot-house at the bow, built of iron bars log- 
cabin fashion, received in the face, as he peered through 
the interstice, the blinding fire and smoke from a shell 
that struck within a few inches, but he escaped death. 
The casualties on the Virginia were few. On the morn- 
ing of that day both North and South believed that the 
Confederacy was about to control the sea. The anticipa- 
tion, whether hope or fear, vanished in the smoke of that 
day's battle. With it, too, passed away the traditional 
beauty and romance of the old sea-service — the oak- 

* Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, V, 226. 
278 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRI M AC 

ribbed and white -winged navies, whose dominion had 
been so long and picturesque, at last and forever gave 
way to steel and steam. ^ 



II 



THE BATTLE DESCRIBED BY CAPTAIN WORDEN AND LIEUTENANT 
GREENE OF THE MONITOR 

By Lucius E. Chittenden 

Some weeks after the historic battle between the 
Monitor and the Merrimac in Hampton Roads, on March 
9, 1862, the former vessel came to the Washington navy- 
yard unchanged, in the same condition as when she dis- 
charged her parting shot at the Merrimac. There she 
lay until her heroic commander had so far recovered from 
his injuries as to be able to rejoin his vessel. All leaves 
of absence had been revoked, the absentees had returned 
and were ready to welcome their captain. President 
Lincoln, Captain Fox, and a limited number of Captain 
Worden's personal friends had been invited to his in- 
formal reception. Lieutenant Greene received the Presi- 
dent and the guests. He was a boy in years — not too 
young to volunteer, however, when volunteers were 
scarce, and to fight the Merrimac during the last half of 
the battle, after the captain was disabled. 

The President and the other guests stood on the deck, 
near the turret. The men were formed in lines, with 
their officers a little in advance, when Captain Worden 
ascended the gangway. The heavy guns in the navy- 
yard began firing the customary salute when he stepped 
upon the deck. One side of his face was permanently 
blackened by the powder shot into it from the muzzle of 
a cannon carrying a shell of one hundred pounds weight, 
discharged less than twenty yards away. The President 

^ Soley, Blockade and Cruisers, 54. 
279 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

advanced to welcome him, and introduced him to the 
few strangers present. The officers and men passed in 
review and were dismissed. Then there was a scene 
worth witnessing. The old tars swarmed around their 
loved captain, they grasped his hand, crowded to touch 
him, thanked God for his recovery and return, and in- 
voked blessings upon his head in the name of all the 
saints in the calendar. He called them by their names, 
had a pleasant word for each of them, and for a few mo- 
ments we looked upon an exhibition of a species of affec- 
tion that could only have been the product of a common 
danger. 

When order was restored the President gave a brief 
sketch of Captain Worden's career. Commodore Paul- 
ding had been the first. Captain Worden the second officer 
of the navy, he said, to give an unqualified opinion in 
favor of armored vessels. Their opinions had been in- 
fluential with him and with the Board of Construction. 
Captain Worden had volunteered to take command of 
the Monitor, at the risk of his life and reputation, before 
her keel was laid. He had watched her construction, and 
his energy had made it possible to send her to sea in time 
to arrest the destructive operations of the Merrimac. 
What he had done with a new crew, and a vessel of novel 
construction, we all know. He, the President, cordially 
acknowledged his indebtedness to Captain Worden, and 
he hoped the whole country would unite in the feeling of 
obligation. The debt was a heavy one, and would not 
be repudiated when its nature was understood. The 
details of the first battle between iron-clads would interest 
every one. At the request of Captain Fox, Captain Wor- 
den had consented to give an account of his voyage from 
New York to Hampton Roads, and of what had after- 
ward happened there on board the Monitor. 

In an easy, conversational manner, without any effort 
at display, Captain Worden told the story, of which the 
following is the substance: 

280 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIM AC 

" I suppose," he began, "that every one knows that we 
left New York Harbor in some haste. We had informa- 
tion that the Merrimac was nearly completed, and if we 
were to fight her on her first appearance we must be on 
the ground. The Monitor had been hurried from the 
laying of her keel. Her engines were new, and her ma- 
chinery did not move smoothly. Never was a vessel 
launched that so much needed trial-trips to test her 
machinery and get her crew accustomed to their novel 
duties. We went to sea practically without them. No 
part of the vessel was finished; there was one omission 
that was serious, and came very near causing her failure 
and the loss of many lives. In heavy weather it was in- 
tended that her hatches and all her openings should be 
closed and battened down. In that case all the men 
would be below, and would have to depend upon artificial 
ventilation. Our machinery for that purpose proved 
wholly inadequate. 

" We were in a heavy gale of wind as soon as we passed 
Sandy Hook. The vessel behaved splendidly. The seas 
rolled over her, and we found her the most comfortable 
vessel we had ever seen, except for the ventilation, which 
gave us more trouble than I have time to tell you about. 
We had to run into port and anchor on account of the 
weather, and, as you know, it was two o'clock in the 
morning of Sunday before we were alongside the Minne- 
sota. Captain Van Brunt gave us an account of Satur- 
day's experience. He w^as very glad to make our ac- 
quaintance, and notified us that we must be prepared to 
receive the Merrimac at daylight. We had had a very 
hard trip down the coast, and officers and men were weary 
and sleepy. But when informed that our fight would prob- 
ably open at daylight, and that the Monitor must be put 
in order, every man went to his post with a cheer. That 
night there was no sleep on board the Monitor. 

" In the gray of the early morning we saw a vessel 
approaching which our friends on the Minnesota said 

281 



DECISIVE BATTLES OP AMERICA 

was the Merrimac. Our fastenings were cast off, our 
machinery started, and we moved out to meet her half- 
way. We had come a long way to fight her, and did 
not intend to lose our opportunity. 

'* Before showing you over the vessel, let me say that 
there were three possible points of weakness in the Moni- 
tor, two of which might have been guarded against in her 
construction if there had been more time to perfect her 
plans. One of them was in the turret, which, as you see, 
is constructed of eight plates of inch iron — on the side 
of the ports, nine — set on end so as to break joints, and 
firmly bolted together, making a hollow cylinder eight 
inches thick. It rests on a metal ring on a vertical shaft, 
which is revolved by power from the boilers. If a pro- 
jectile struck the turret at an acute angle, it was expected 
to glance off without doing damage. But what would 
happen if it was fired in a straight line to the centre of 
the turret, which in that case would receive the whole 
force of the blow? It might break off the bolt-heads on 
the interior, which, flying across, would kill the men at 
the guns; it might disarrange the revolving mechanism, 
and then we would be wholly disabled. 

" I laid the Monitor close alongside the Merrimac, and 
gave her a shot. She returned our compliment by a 
shell, weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, fired when 
we were close together, which struck the turret so squarely 
that it received the whole force. Here you see the scar, 
two and a half inches deep in the wrought iron, a perfect 
mould of the shell. If anything could test the turret, 
it was that shot. It did not start a rivet-head or a nut! 
It stunned the two men who were nearest where the 
ball struck, and that was all. I touched the lever — the 
turret revolved as smoothly as before. The turret had 
stood the test; I could mark that point of weakness off 
my list forever. 

" You notice that the deck is joined to the side of the 
hull by a right angle, at what sailors call the * plank-shear.' 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIM AC 

If a projectile struck that angle, what would happen? 
It would not be deflected; its whole force would be ex- 
pended there. It might open a seam in the hull below 
the water-line, or pierce the wooden hull, and sink us. 
Here was our second point of weakness. 

*' I had decided how I would fight her in advance. I 
would keep the Monitor moving in a circle, just large 
enough to give time for loading the guns. At the point 
where the circle impinged upon the Merrimac our guns 
should be fired, and loaded while we were moving around 
the circuit. Evidently the Merrimac would return the 
compliment every time. At our second exchange of 
shots, she returning six or eight to our two, another of 
her large shells struck our ' plank-shear ' at its angle, and 
tore up one of the deck-plates, as you see. The shell had 
struck what I believed to be the weakest point in the 
Monitor. We had already learned that the Merrimac 
swarmed with sharpshooters, for their bullets were con- 
stantly spattering against our turret and our deck. If 
a man showed himself on deck he would draw their fire. 
But I did not much consider the sharpshooters. It was 
my duty to investigate the effects of that shot. I or- 
dered one of the pendulums to be hauled aside, and, 
crawling out of the port, walked to the side, laid down 
upon my chest, and examined it thoroughly. The hull 
was uninjured, except for a few splinters in the wood. 
I walked back and crawled into the turret — the bullets 
were falling on the iron deck all about me as thick as 
hailstones in a storm. None struck me, I suppose be- 
cause the vessel was moving — and at the angle, and when 
I was lying on the deck, my body made a small mark 
difficult to hit. We gave them two more guns, and then 
I told the men, what was true, that the Merrimac could 
not sink us if we let her pound us for a month. The 
men cheered; the knowledge put new life into all. 

" We had more exchanges, and then the Merrimac tried 
new tactics. She endeavored to ram us, to run us down. 

283 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Once she struck us about amidships with her iron ram. 
Here you see its mark. It gave us a shock, pushed us 
around, and that was all the harm. But the movement 
placed our sides together. I gave her two guns, which I 
think lodged in her side, for, from my lookout crack, I 
could not see that either shot rebounded. Ours being 
the smaller vessel, and more easily handled, I had no 
difficulty in avoiding her ram. I ran around her several 
times, planting our shot in what seemed to be the most 
vulnerable places. In this way, reserving my fire until 
I got the range and the mark, I planted two more shots 
almost in the very spot I had hit when she tried to ram 
us. Those shots must have been effective, for they were 
followed by a shower of bars of iron. 

"The third weak spot was our pilot-house. You see 
that it is built a little more than three feet above the 
deck, of bars of iron, ten by twelve inches square, built 
up like a log-house, bolted with very large bolts at the 
corners where the bars interlock. The pilot stands upon 
a platform below, his head and shoulders in the pilot- 
house. The upper tier of bars is separated from the 
second by an open space of an inch, through which the 
pilot may look out at every point of the compass. The 
pilot-house, as you see, is a four-square mass of iron, pro- 
vided with no means of deflecting a ball. I expected 
trouble from it, and I was not disappointed. Until my 
accident happened, as we approached the enemy I stood 
in the pilot-house and gave the signals. Lieutenant 
Greene fired the guns, and Engineer Stimers, here, re- 
volved the turret. 

" I was below the deck when the corner of the pilot- 
house was first struck by a shot or a shell. It either burst 
or was broken, and no harm was done. A short time 
after I had given the signal, and, with my eye close against 
the lookout crack, was watching the effect of our shot, 
when something happened to me — my part in the fight 
was ended. Lieutenant Greene, who fought the Merrimac 

284 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC 

until she had no longer stomach for fighting, will tell you 
the rest of the story." 

Can it be possible that this beardless boy fought one 
of the historic battles of the world ? This was the thought 
of every one as the modest, diffident young Greene was 
half pushed forward into the circle. 

"I cannot add much to the Captain's story," he be- 
gan. " He had cut out the work for us, and we had only 
to follow his pattern. I kept the Monitor either moving 
around the circle or around the enemy, and endeavored 
to place our shots as near her amidships as possible where 
Captain Worden believed he had already broken through 
her armor. We knew that she could not sink us, and I 
thought I would keep right on pounding her as long as 
she would stand it. There is really nothing new to be 
added to Captain Worden' s account. We could strike 
her wherever we chose; weary as they must have been, 
our men were full of enthusiasm, and I do not think we 
wasted a shot. Once we ran out of the circle for a mo- 
ment to adjust a piece of machinery, and I learn that 
some of our friends feared that we were drawing out of 
the fight. The Merrimac took the opportunity to start 
for Norfolk. As soon as our machinery was adjusted we 
followed her, and got near enough to give her a parting 
shot. But I was not familiar with the locality; there 
might be torpedoes planted in the channel, and I did not 
wish to take any risk of losing our vessel, so I came back 
to the company of our friends. But except that we were, 
all of us, tired and hungry when we came back to the 
Minnesota at half-past 12 p.m., the Monitor was just as 
well prepared to fight as she was at eight o'clock in the 
morning when she fired the first gun." 

We were then shown the injury to the pilot-house. 
The mark of the ball was plain upon the two upper bars, 
the principal impact being upon the lower of the two. 
This huge* bar was broken in the middle, but held firmly 
at either end. The farther it was pressed in, the stronger 

28s 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

was the resistance on the exterior. On the inside the 
fracture in the bar was half an inch wide. Captain Wor- 
den's eye was very near to the lookout crack, so that 
when the gun was discharged the shock of the ball knocked 
him senseless, while the mass of flame filled one side of 
his face with coarse grains of powder. He remained in- 
sensible for some hours. 

" Have you heard what Captain Worden's first inquiry 
was when he recovered his senses after the general shock 
to his system?" asked Captain Fox of the President. 

"I think I have," replied Mr. Lincoln, "but it is worth 
relating to these gentlemen." 

" His question was," said Captain Fox, " ' Have I saved 
the Minnesota?' 

"*Yes, and whipped the MerrimacF some one an- 
swered. 

"'Then,' said Captain Worden, 'I don't care what 
becomes of me.' " 

"Mr. President," said Captain Fox, "not much of the 
history to which we have listened is new to me. I saw 
this battle from eight o'clock until mid-day. There was 
one marvel in it which has not been mentioned — the 
splendid handling of the Monitor throughout the battle. 
The first bold advance of this diminutive vessel against 
a giant like the Merrimac was superlatively grand. She 
seemed inspired by Nelson's order at Trafalgar: 'He will 
make no mistake who lays his vessel alongside the enemy.' 
One would have thought the Monitor a living thing. 
No man was visible. You saw her moving around that 
circle, delivering her fire invariably at the point of con- 
tact, and heard the crash of the missile against her 
enemy's armor above the thunder of her guns, on the 
bank where we stood. It was indescribably grand! 

"Now," he continued, "standing here on the deck of 
this battle-scarred vessel, the first genuine iron-clad — 
the victor in the first fight of iron-clads — let me make 
a confession and perform an act of simple justice. I 

286 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC 

never fully believed in armored vessels until I saw this 
battle. I know all the facts which united to give us the 
Monitor. I withhold no credit from Captain Ericsson, 
her inventor, but I know that the country is principally 
indebted for the construction of this vessel to President 
Lincoln, and for the success of her trial to Captain Wor- 
den, her commander." 



XVII 
FARRAGUT'S CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS (1862) 

WITH SOME NOTES ON THE BLOCKADE 

WHILE the West in 1861-62 was alive with marching 
armies and the sound of strife, the East had been 
experiencing its share of activity by land and sea, and the 
navy must first engage us. The blockade became steadily 
more effective as new ships, purchased, chartered, or 
built for the purpose, gathered at the various rendezvous. 
Hatteras Inlet and Port Royal, seized in the fall of 1861,^ 
became bases for coast and inland expeditions which nar- 
rowed the Confederate hold on the shore of the Atlantic. 
In January, 1862, a fleet and army, braving the mid- 
winter storms which were more formidable than human 
opposition, entered by Hatteras Inlet, in order to domi- 
nate more completely the North Carolina sounds. The 
fortifications on Roanoke Island, lying between Albe- 
marle and Pamlico sounds, were easily captured, Feb- 
ruary 8th. New- Berne and other towns were soon after 
occupied, and the inlets and river-mouths so occupied 
and threatened that the outlets to the sea became for 
the Confederates few and perilous. This successful course 
was interrupted during the Virginia campaign of the 
summer; the troops were to a large extent withdrawn to 
places where reinforcements were demanded. The Roa- 
noke Island expedition is noteworthy, among other rea- 
sons, for bringing to the front Ambrose E. Burnside, its 

' See The Appeal to Arms, by Dr. J. K. Hosmer, p. 74. 
288 



CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS • 

commander/ a brave and well-intentioned patriot, quite 
inadequate, however, for large responsibilities, which 
later came upon him. 

During these same weeks forces farther south were 
equally busy in expeditions from Port Royal. Fort 
Pulaski, the strong work which commanded the ap- 
proaches to Savannah, a post environed by swamps and 
watercourses, and therefore difficult of access, succumbed 
rather to the engineering skill than to the bravery of its 
assailants, April ii, 1862; therefore, most of the littoral 
of Georgia, in addition to that of North and South Caro- 
lina, was in Federal hands. ^ These conquests were pres- 
ently supplemented by the occupation of the Atlantic 
ports of Florida. On the Gulf side, the retention of Fort 
Pickens by Union forces from the beginning had put 
Pensacola Harbor under Federal control. The blockade, 
at first deemed impracticable, within a year of its estab- 
lishment was throttling the foreign commerce which was 
vital to the Confederacy. On the Atlantic scarcely any 
important ports were left except Charleston and Wil- 
mington; and before the thresholds of these places lay, 
night and day, the fierce and watchful war-dogs of the 
Union. ^ Nevertheless, up to April, 1862, the Gulf ports 
of Mobile, New Orleans, Galveston, and Matagorda still 
remained to the Confederacy. How long could these 
maintain themselves? 

This swift and easy repossession of the southern coast- 
line by the Union, however important, lacked the whole- 
sale excitement of great and bloody battles, and was a 
game little appreciated. But in the midst of it came an 
incident dramatic and startling in the highest degree, its 
hero being a naval officer, David Glasgow Farragut, son 
of a Spaniard from the island of Minorca, who had mar- 
ried a girl of Scotch strain and settled in the Tennessee 

^ Poore, Burnside, 132. 
2 War Records, Serial No. 6, pp. 133-167. 
' Soley, Blockade and Cruisers, 82 et seq. 
289 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

mountains. After the birth of David the family removed 
to Louisiana, the father receiving a naval command. 
David as a boy of thirteen was on the Essex at Valparaiso, 
in 1 814, in her famous fight against the Phoebe and Cherub. 




THE MISSISSIPPI BELOW NEW ORLEANS 

He had done good service on the seas and in port for 
almost fifty years, but his opportunity did not come until 
he was sixty years old.^ 

The need of seizing New Orleans, if practicable, was 
obvious: the place commanded the lower Mississippi, and 
was the most populous and important city of the Con- 



^ Farragut, Farragut, chaps, i, ii. 
290 



CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 

federacy. The government, therefore, early gave thought 
to its capture, assigning for that end a land force of 
eighteen thousand men, under General Benjamin F. But- 
ler, and a powerful fleet. It was recognized that the 
navy must play the larger part in the operations: eighty- 
two ships, therefore, were assigned to the West Gulf 
Squadron, ranging from tugs, mortar - schooners, and 
chartered ferry-boats to the most powerful man-of-war 
which the nation owned. ^ To command this great fleet 
was chosen Farragut, whose force and capacity had been 
recognized, especially by Welles, Secretary of the Navy.^ 
He hoisted his flag on the Hartford, a wooden ship of 
nineteen hundred tons and twenty-four guns, and Feb- 
ruary 2, 1862, sailed southward from Hampton Roads to 
Ship Island, midway between the mouth of the Mississippi 
and Mobile, the rendezvous for the army and squadron. 
Farragut's ships were all of wood; and, although steam 
in great part was the motive-power, sails were not super- 
seded. Even as Farragut was concentrating in the Gulf, 
an event, to be described presently, took place in Hamp- 
ton Roads which revolutionized naval warfare. But the 
enterprises in the Gulf were well started, and some 
triumphs still remained for the old-fashioned sailor and 
the old-fashioned ship.^ In March the fleet managed to 
cross the bar and enter the Mississippi, a feat of no small 
difficulty in the case of the heavier vessels. The Colorado 
was left outside, the Pensacola was dragged by her con- 
sorts through a foot of mud, and the Mississippi was 
scarcely less embarrassed. At last the squadron of at- 
tack was for the most part within the branches of the 
river; at the head of the passes they stripped like gladi- 
ators for a final struggle, and proceeded to attack the 
main obstructions twenty miles above. Farragut had 

^ Naval War Records, XVHI, pp. xv, xvi. 
^ Farragut, Farragut, 207. 

3 Naval War Records, XVIH (West Gulf Blockading Squadron); 
Mahan, Gulf and Inland Waters, 52. 

291 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

seventeen ships for the attack, mounting one hundred 
and fifty guns, besides twenty mortar - schooners, with 
six attendant gunboats, under Commodore David D. 
Porter. 

Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phihp, well manned and 
equipped, guarded the river on the west and east. An 
enormous chain, supported on anchored hulks, stretched 
across the half-mile of current to hold any approaching 
hostile vessels at a point where the fire of the forts could 
converge. Above the forts, a formidable flotilla of craft 
variously armed with rams and guns, some heaped with 
pitch-pine knots to serve as fire-ships, stood ready to 
take part.^ 




FORTS OP THE MISSISSIPPI 



Unless this boom could be broken the ships could not 
ascend. Farragut ordered two gunboats to this danger- 
ous task. Stealing up at night, they accomplished it. 
On the night of April 23d„ the ships advanced, a column 
led by the Cayuga following the eastern bank; Farragut 
himself, in the Hartford, led the column which was to 
pass close to Fort Jackson. Now came a rare blending 

^ Beverly Kennon, a Southern officer, in Battles and Leaders, II, 
76, criticises severely the management of the Confederate ships. 

292 



CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 

of the splendid and the terrible. The night was calm, 
with starlight and a waning moon; but in the fiercer 
flashings of the combat the world seemed on fire. In 
arcs rising far toward the zenith the shells of the mortars 
mounted and fell; broadsides thundered; from barbette 
and casemate rolled an incessant reply. Suddenly above 
the flashes of guns came a steady glare: fire-ships, their 
pitch-pine cargoes all ablaze, swept into the midst of 
the struggling fleet. The attacking lines became con- 
fused in the volumes of smoke settling down upon the 
stream. In the blinding vapor friend could scarcely be 
told from foe. The captain of the Confederate Governor 
Moore, finding that the bow of his own ship interfered 
with the aim of his gun, coolly blew the bow to pieces 
with a discharge, then through the shattered opening 
renewed the battle. A Confederate tug pluckily pushed 
a fire-raft directly upon the Hartford. The tug and its 
crew disappeared and the Hartford ran aground; the 
sailors, undaunted, stuck to their work; the ship was 
pulled off by her own engines, while a deluge from the 
pumps put out the fire. For an hour and a half the roar 
and the flashings continued; as the dawn came, the 
battle was hushed. Three Federal gunboats had been 
driven back and one sunk, but the main fleet was above 
the forts. The ships in general were scarred and battered 
in the night's encounter, but little harmed, and Farragut 
made ready at once to go on his way.^ 

The passing of the forts made certain the fall of New 
Orleans. The small Confederate army under General 
Mansfield Lovell was at once withdrawn and the city 
left to its fate. Farragut appeared before it, after pass- 
ing rapidly up the intervening seventy miles, at noon, 
April 25th. The population of one hundred and fifty 
thousand souls, seething with natural mortification and 
passion, lay under the broadsides of the fleet, and, after 

^ Naval War Records, XVIII, 134 et seq.; Mahan, Gulf and In- 
land Waters, 52 et seq. 

293 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

one outburst, in which a mob trampled on the United 
States flag, they sullenly submitted. With all possible 
expedition, the forts having given up, the land forces 
ascended the river and, on May ist, took possession.^ 
Farragut soon ascended the river to Vicksburg with a 
large part of his fleet. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEF- 
LY MILITARY, BETWEEN FARRAGUT'S 
CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS, 1862, 
AND THE BATTLES OF GETTYS- 
BURG AND VICKSBURG, 1863 

1862. Battle of Shiloh. Capture of Island No. 10. 
Battle of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks. "Seven Days' 
Battle" between the armies of McClellan and Lee be- 
fore Richmond. Repulse of the Confederates at Malvern 
Hill, and a constant succession of battles. Halleck ap- 
pointed Federal commander-in-chief. Confederate vic- 
tory at Cedar Mountain. Second battle of Bull Run and 
defeat of the Federals. Battle of South Mountain. Bat- 
tle of Antietam Creek. Proclamation of Emancipation. 
The Confederate cavalry under General Stuart makes 
a successful raid into Pennsylvania. Burnside succeeds 
McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac. 
Battle of Fredericksburg and repulse of the Federals. 

1863. Definite abolition of slavery in the rebellious 
states. Hooker commands Army of the Potomac. West 
Virginia admitted (by proclamation) into the Union. 
Confederate victory at Chancellorsville. General Grant 
invests Vicksburg. Lee occupies Winchester, crosses the 
Potomac, and enters Pennsylvania. Meade appointed 
commander of the Army of the Potomac. Battle of 
Gettysburg, July 1-3. Fall of Vicksburg, July 4th. 

^ Parton, Butler in New Orleans, chap. xii. 
294 



XVIII 
VICKSBURG (JANUARY-JULY, 1863) 

In the American Civil War, 1861-65, the capture of Vicksburg, 
on the Mississippi, cut the Confederacy in two, and the battle of 
Gettysburg proved a Confederate invasion of the North impos- 
sible. Out of the many great battles of that war it is historically 
essential that these two should be emphasized. 

After Fort Sumter was fired upon, April 12, 1861, the relative 
efficiency of the South and the unpreparedness of the North were 
soon illustrated in the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. In the 
East, where the main objective point of the Northern attack was 
Richmond, there followed McClellan's organization of the Army 
of the Potomac. In the West were Halleck and Buell, with head- 
quarters at St. Louis and Louisville, and the main end in view in 
the Western campaign was the control of the Mississippi. Feb- 
ruary, 1862, brought Northern successes in the Western campaign 
in Grant's capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, followed by 
Shiloh, Corinth, and Memphis, which opened the Mississippi to 
Vicksburg. At the same time Farragut's fleet in the South capt- 
ured New Orleans, a victory which, like the effect of the blockade 
throughout the war, was a weighty demonstration of the in- 
fluence of sea-power upon history. After Farragut had cleared 
the lower river, it was practically Vicksburg alone which remained 
to unite the eastern and western territory of the Confederacy. 
But in the East there had been a series of Northern disasters, cul- 
minating in Chancellors ville. — Editor. 

WHEN the defeated Federals recrossed the Rappa- 
hannock, May 5, 1863, after Chancellors ville, the 
fortunes of the North were at the lowest ebb. Then 
came the turning of the tide, and in an unexpected quar- 
ter. General Grant had shot up into fame through his 
capture of Fort Donelson, early in 1862, but had done 
little thereafter to confirm his reputation. Though in 
responsible command in northern Mississippi and south- 

295 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

western Tennessee, the few successes there which the 
country could appreciate went to the credit of his subordi- 
nate, Rosecrans. The world remembered his shiftless- 
ness before the war, and began to believe that his success 
had been accidental. All things considered, it is strange 
that Grant had been kept in place. The pressure for his 
removal had been great everywhere, but his superiors 
stood by him faithfully, though Lincoln's persistence was 
maintained in the midst of misgivings. 

In the fall of 1862, Grant, in command of fifty thou- 
sand men, purposed to continue the advance southward 
through Mississippi, flanking Vicksburg, which then must 
certainly fall. His supplies must come over the Memphis 
& Charleston road and the two weak and disabled lines 
of railroad, the Mississippi Central and the Mobile & Ohio. 
To guard one hundred and fifty miles of railroad in a 
hostile country the army must necessarily be scattered, 
as every bridge, culvert, and station needed a detail. 
From Washington came unwise interference; but he 
moved on with vigor. As winter approached, he pushed 
into Mississippi toward Jackson. If that place could be 
seized, Vicksburg, fifty miles west, must become unten- 
able, and to this end Grant desired to unite his whole 
force. He was overruled, and the troops divided: while 
he marched on Jackson, Sherman, with thirty-two thou- 
sand, was to proceed down the river from Memphis. 
Grant's hope was that he and Sherman, both near Vicks- 
burg, and supporting each other, might act in concert. 

Complete failure attended this beginning. Forrest, 
operating in a friendly country, tore up the railroads in 
Grant's rear for scores of miles, capturing his detach- 
ments and working destruction. On December 20th, 
also. Van Dorn, now a cavalry leader, surprised Holly 
Springs, Grant's main depot in northern Mississippi, carry- 
ing off and burning stores to the amount of $1,500,000.1 

^ War Records, Serial No. 24, p. 511. 
296 



VICKSBURG 

Grant's movement southward became impossible: the 
army stood stripped and helpless, saving itself only by 
living off the country, an experience rough at the time, 
but out of which, later, came benefit.^ Co-operation with 
Sherman could no longer be thought of. Nor could news 
of the disaster be sent to Sherman, who, following his 
orders, punctually embarked and steamed down to the 
mouth of the Yazoo; this he entered, and on December 
29th, believing that the garrison of Vicksburg had been 
drawn off to meet Grant, he flung his divisions against 
the Confederate lines at Chickasaw Bayou, with a loss of 
eighteen hundred men and no compensating advantage.^ 

The difficulty and disaster in the Mississippi campaign 
were increased by a measure which strikingly reveals the 
effect in war of political pressure at the capital. At the 
outbreak of the war, John A. McClernand was a member 
of Congress from Illinois, and later commanded a division 
at Donelson and Shiloh. Returning to Washington, he 
stood out as a War Democrat, a representative of a class 
whose adherence to the administration was greatly 
strained by the Emancipation Proclamation, and whose 
loyalty Lincoln felt it was almost vital to preserve. 
When, therefore, he laid before Lincoln a scheme ^ to 
raise by his own influence a large force in the West, over 
which he was to have military command, with the in- 
tention of taking Vicksburg, Lincoln and Stanton yielded, 
the sequel showing that McClernand was a soldier of lit- 
tle merit. . . . 

McClernand went West, and kept his promise by mus- 
tering into the service, chiefly through his personal in- 
fluence, some thirty regiments, a welcome recruitment in 
those dark days. With this new army McClernand ap- 
peared at the mouth of the Yazoo just at the moment 
when Sherman emerged from the swamps with his crest- 

* Grant, Personal Memoirs, I, 411. 
2 Sherman, Memoirs, I, 319. 

^ Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, VII, 135. 
297 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

fallen divisions. McClernand assumed command, Sher- 
man subsiding into a subordinate place; but he had in- 
fluence enough with his new superior to persuade him to 
proceed at once to an attack upon Arkansas Post, not far 
away.^ This measure proved successful, the place capitu- 
lating January ii, 1863, with five thousand men and 
seventeen guns. Though the victory was due in great 
part to the navy, Sherman alone in the army having ren- 
dered conspicuous service, yet before the country the 
credit went to McClernand, nominally the commander, 
giving him an undeserved prestige which made the situa- 
tion worse. 

Grant often found Halleck very trying; but in the 
present exigency the superior stood stoutly by him, and 
probably saved to him his position. The military sense 
of the general-in-chief saw clearly the folly of a divided 
command, and he enlightened the President, who made 
Grant major-general in command ' of operations on the 
Mississippi, McClernand being put at the head of a corps. 
January 30th, therefore, Grant, suppressing a scheme en- 
tertained by McClernand for a campaign in Arkansas, set 
to work to solve the problem of opening the great river. 

Probably few generals have ever encountered a situa- 
tion more difficult, or one in which military precedents 
helped so little. The fortress occupied a height command- 
ing on the north and west, along the river, swampy bot- 
tom-lands, at the moment largely submerged or threaded 
with channels. These lowlands were much overgrown 
with canebrake and forest; roads there were almost none, 
the plantations established within the area being ap- 
proached most conveniently by boats. But it was from 
the north and west, apparently, that Vicksburg must be 
assailed, for the region south of the city appeared quite 
beyond reach, since the batteries closed the river, which 
seemed the sole means of approach for Northern forces. 

* Sherman, Memoirs, I, 324, 
298 



VICKSBURG 

The surest approach to the stronghold was from the east; 
but there Grant had tried and failed; public sentiment 
would not sustain another movement from that side. 
There was nothing for it but to try by the north and west, 
and Grant grappled with the problem. 

Besides the natural obstacles, he had to take account of 
his own forces, and the strength and character of his ad- 
versary. In November, 1862, Johnston, not yet recovered 
from the wounds received at Fair Oaks in May, was 
ordered to assume command in the West, taking the 
troops of Kirby Smith, Bragg, and the army defending 
the Mississippi. The latter force, up to that time under 
Van Dorn, was transferred to John C. Pemberton, of an 
old Pennsylvania family, before and after the war a 
citizen of Philadelphia. Though a Northerner, he had 
the entire confidence of both Jefferson Davis and Robert 
E. Lee. His record in the old army was good; he was 
made lieutenant-general by the Confederacy, and re- 
ceived most weighty responsibilities. He served bravely 
and faithfully the cause he had espoused; though out- 
classed in his campaign, he did not lack ability. Pem- 
berton commanded some fifty thousand men, comprising 
not only the garrison of Vicksburg, but also that of Port 
Hudson and detachments posted in northern Mississippi. 
On the watch at such a point as Jackson, the state capital, 
he could, on short notice, concentrate his scattered com- 
mand to meet whatever danger might threaten. 

Against this alert adversary Grant could now oppose 
about an equal number of men, comprised in four corps — 
the Thirteenth (McClernand) , Fifteenth (Sherman), 
Sixteenth (Hurlbut), Seventeenth (McPherson). Hurlbut 
was of necessity retained at and near Memphis, to pre- 
serve communications and hold western Tennessee; the 
three other corps could take the field with about forty- 
three thousand. Among Grant's lieutenants, two were 
soldiers of the best quality — Sherman and James B. 
McPherson, the latter a young officer of engineers, who 

299 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

during the preceding months had been coming rapidly 
to the front. ^ Besides the army, Grant had a powerful 
auxiliary in the fleet, which now numbered seventy craft, 
large and small, manned by fifty-five hundred sailors 
and commanded by David D. Porter, an indefatigable chief. 
Grant at the outset could, of course, have no fixed 
plan. Throughout February and March his operations 
were tentative; and though the country murmured at 
his "inactivity," never did general or army do harder 
work. Might not Vicksburg perhaps be isolated on the 
west, and a way be found beyond the reach of its cannon 
to that vantage-ground south of it which seemed so in- 
accessible? Straightway the army tried, with spade, 
pick, and axe, to complete the cut-off which Williams had 
begun the previous summer; also to open a tortuous and 
embarrassed passage far round through Lake Providence 
and the Tensas and Washita rivers. Might not some 
insufficiently guarded approach be found through the 
Yazoo bottom ^ to Haines* Bluff, the height dominating 
Vicksburg from the northeast, which Sherman had sought 
to seize at Chickasaw Bayou? Straightway there were 
enterprises seldom attempted in war.^ The levee at 
Yazoo Pass was cut, far up the river, so that the swollen 
Mississippi flooded the wide region below. Through the 
crevasse plunged gunboat and transport, to engage in 
amphibious warfare; soldiers wading in the mire or 
swimming the bayous; divisions struggling to terra firma, 
only to find that Pemberton was there before them be- 
hind unassailable parapets; gunboats wedged in ditches, 
unable to turn, with hostile axemen blocking both ad- 
vance and retreat by felling trees across the channel; 
Porter sheltering himself from sharpshooters within a 
section of broken smokestack and meditating the blow- 
ing-up of his boats; Sherman now paddling in a canoe, 

* Cullum, Register of Mil. Acad., art., "McPherson." 
^ War Records, Serial No. 36, pp. 371-467. 
^ Mahan, Gulf and Inland Waters, no et seq. 
300 



VICKSBURG 

now riding bareback, now joining the men of a rescue- 
party in a double-quick — all in cypress forests draped 
with funereal moss, as if Death had miade ready for a 
calamity that seemed certain. 

April came, and nothing had been accomplished on the 
north or west. To try again from the east m.eant sum- 
m:ary removal for the commander. Was an attack from 
the south, after all, out of the question, as all his lieuten- 
ants urged? Grant resolved to try; the river-bank to 
the west was so far dried that the passage of a column 
through the swamp-roads became possible. Porter was 
willing to attempt to run the batteries, though sure that, 
if once below, he could never return. The night of April 
1 6th was one of wild excitements. The fleet was dis- 
covered as soon as it got under way, and conflagrations, 
blazing right and left, clearly revealed it as it swept down 
the stream. The Confederate fire could not be concen- 
trated,^ and hence the injury was small to the armored 
craft; and even the transports in their company, pro- 
tected only by baled hay or cotton, escaped with one 
exception. A few days later transports and barges again 
passed down.^ The column, toiling along the swampy 
road, was met, when at last it reached a point well below 
the town, by an abundance of supplies and ample means 
for placing it on the other bank. April 29th, Grand Gulf, 
the southern outpost of Vicksburg, was cannonaded, with 
ten thousand men on transports at hand for an assault, 
if the chance came. High on its bluff, it defied the bom- 
bardment, as the main citadel had done. Then it was 
that Grant turned to his last resource. 

It requires attention to comprehend how a plan so 
audacious as that now adopted could succeed. First, the 
watchful Pemberton was bewildered and misled as to the 
point of attack. About the time the batteries were run, 
Grierson, an Illinois officer, starting with seventeen hun- 

^ Johnston, Narrative, 152. 

2 War Records, Serial No. 36, pp. 565 et seq. 

301 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

dred cavalry from La Grange, Tennessee, raided com- 
pletely through Mississippi, from north to south, so skil- 
fully creating an impression of large numbers, so effective- 
ly wrecking railroads and threatening incursion now here 
and now there, that the back-country was thrown into 
a panic, and Pemberton thought an attack in force from 
that direction possible. Following close upon Grierson's 
raid, Sherman demonstrated with such noise and parade 
north of the city that Pemberton sent troops to meet a 
possible assault there. Meantime, the Thirteenth and 
Seventeenth corps were ferried rapidly across the river 
below Grand Gulf, and, a footing on the upland having 
been obtained unopposed, Grant stood fairly on the left 
bank. He now sent word to Halleck that he felt this 
battle was more than half won.^ 

The event proved that Grant was not oversanguine. 
An easy victory at Port Gibson, over a brave but inferior 
force, gave him Grand Gulf. Joined now by Sherman, 
he plunged with his three corps into the interior, cutting 
loose from his river base, and also from his hampering 
connection with Washington. The previous fall he had 
learned to live off the country. Two more easy victories, 
at Raymond and Jackson, gave him the state capital, 
and placed him, fully concentrated, between the armies 
of Pemberton and Johnston. The ntmiber of his foes 
was swelling fast — from Port Hudson, from South Caro- 
lina, from Tennessee; but Grant did not let slip' his ad- 
vantage. Johnston, not yet recovered from his Fair 
Oaks wound, was not at his best. Pemberton, confused 
by an adversary who could do so unmilitary a thing as 
to throw away his base, vacillated and blundered. A 
heavy battle at Champion's Hill, May i6th, in which the 
completeness of Grant's victory was prevented by the 
bad conduct of McClernand, nevertheless resulted in 
Pemberton' s precipitate flight. Next day the Federals 

^ War Records, Serial No. 36, p. ^2, , 
302 



VICKSBURG 

seized the crossing of the Big Black River, after which 
all the outposts of Vicksburg, from Haines' Bluff south- 
ward, fell without further fighting, and Pemberton, with 
the army that remained to him, was shut up within the 
works. The Federals held all outside, looking down 



GRANT'S b 
HD. QRS., / 




SIEGE OF VICKSBURG 



from those heights, which for so long had seemed to them 
impregnable, upon the great river open to the north. Supplies 
and reinforcements could now come unhindered and were 
already pouring in. The fall of Vicksburg was certain. . . . 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

The siege once begun, the fortress was doomed without 
recourse. Pemberton, to be sure, did not lose heart, and 
drove back the repeated Federal assaults with skill and 
courage. Johnston, from the rear, mustered men as he 
could, tried to concert with the besieged army a project 
of escape, and at last advanced to attack. But within 
the city supplies soon failed, and outside no resources 
were at hand for the city's succor. Johnston's request 
for twenty thousand men, lying idle in Arkansas had 
been slighted;^ there w^as no other source of supply. 
Kirby Smith and Dick Taylor attempted a diversion on 
the west bank of the river; and still later, at Helena, 
Arkansas, a desperate push was made to afford relief. 
It was all in vain. The North, made cheerful by long- 
delayed success, poured forth to Grant out of its abun- 
dance both men and means. His army was in size nearly 
doubled; food and munitions abounded. The starving 
defenders were inexorably encircled by nearly three times 
their number of well-supplied and triumphant foes. 
Grant's assaults, bold and bloody though they were, had 
little effect in bringing about the result ; the close invest- 
ment would have sufficed.^ On July 4th came the un- 
conditional surrender. The Confederate losses before the 
surrender were fully 10,000; now 29,491, became prison- 
ers, while in the fortress were 170 cannon and 50,000 small 
arms. Grant's loss during the whole campaign was 9362.^ 

'Johnston, Narrative, 153. 

2 Admiral Porter's fleet kept up a continuous bombardment for 
forty days. Seven thousand mortar shells and forty-five hundred 
shells from the gunboats were discharged at the city. As Grant 
drew his lines closer, his cannonade was kept up day and night. 
The people of Vicksburg had taken shelter in caves dug in the 
clay hills on which the city stands. In these caves families lived 
day and night, and children were born. Famine attacked the 
city, and mule-meat made a savory dish. Grant mined under 
some of the Confederate works, and one of them, Fort Hill Bastion, 
was blown up on June 25th with terrible effect. — Harper's En- 
cyclopcedia of United States History. 

^ War Records, Serial No. 37, pp. 146-424. 

304 



VICKSBURG 

To this triumph, a week later, was added the fall of 
Port Hudson,^ which, with a depleted garrison, held out 
stubbornly for six weeks against the Federals. N. P. 
Banks, who after his tragical Virginia experiences suc- 
ceeded, in December, 1862, Butler in Louisiana, was set, 
as in the valley, to meet a difficult situation with inade- 
quate means. With an army of little more than thirty 
thousand, in part nine-months men, he was expected to 
hold New Orleans and such of Louisiana as had been con- 
quered, and also to co-operate with Grant in opening the 
Mississippi. When his garrisons had been placed he had 
scarcely fifteen thousand men left for service in the field, 
a number exceeded at first by the Port Hudson defenders, 
strongly placed and well commanded. West of the river, 
moreover, was still another force under an old adversary 
in the Shenandoah country — Dick Taylor, a general well- 
endowed and trained in the best school. That Banks, 
though active, had no brilliant success was not at all 
strange; yet Halleck found fault. He could not extend 
a hand to Grant; but, risking his communications — risk- 
ing, indeed, the possession of New Orleans — he concen- 
trated at Port Hudson, which fortress, after a six weeks' 
siege, marked by two spirited assaults, he brought to great 
distress. Its fate was sealed by the fall of Vicksburg — 
Gardner, the commander, on July 9th, surrendering the 
post with more than six thousand men and fifty-one guns. 

The capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson was a success 
such as had not been achieved before during our Civil War, 
and was not paralleled afterward until Appomattox. In 
military history there are few achievements which equal 
it ; and the magnitude of the captures of men and resources 
is no more remarkable than are the unfailing courage of 
the soldiers and the genius and vigor of the general.^ 

^ War Records, Serial No. 41, pp. 41-181 (Port Hudson). 
2 Greene, The Mississippi. 



XIX 

GETTYSBURG, JULY 1-3, 1863 

111 the Eastern field of operations in the American Civil War, 
McClellan's organization of the Army of the Potomac had given 
him a well-disciplined force, with which he was facing General 
Joseph Johnston at the opening of 1862. But the Peninsular 
Campaign which McClellan entered upon early in the year, with 
the bloody fighting at Fair Oaks in May, and the Seven Days' 
Battles in May and June, resulted in the withdrawal of the 
Northern forces. There followed Pope's defeat near Bull Run. 
The forward movement was a failure. The Northern forces, only 
four miles from Richmond in June, were practically defending 
Washington in September. The desperate battle of Antietam 
checked Lee's moverrient into Maryland, but was not decisive. 
Burnside's costly defeat at Fredericksburg in December closed a 
gloomy year in the East, which to many seemed to show that the 
South could more than hold its own. The new year brought a 
renewal of disaster to the Northern arms in Hooker's defeat in 
the hard-fought battle of Chancellors ville. But the tide was to 
be turned by one of the crucial events of military history, which 
was close at hand. — Editor. 

THE fall of Vicksburg, though a terrible blow to the 
South, was not a sudden one: to all intelligent eyes 
it had for some weeks been impending; but that Lee 
could be defeated seemed a thing impossible. Because 
so long unconquered, it had come to be accepted that he 
was unconquerable. 

Hooker soon recovered from the daze into which he 
had been thrown at Chancellorsville. His confidence in 
himself was not broken by his misfortune. Instead of, 
like Burnside, manfully shouldering most of the respon- 
sibility of his failure, Hooker vehemently accused his 

306 



GETTYSBURG 

lieutenants of misconduct, and faced the new situation 
with as much resolution as if he had the prestige of a 
victor. The Army of the Potomac, never down in heart 
except for a moment, plucked up cou age forthwith and 
girded itself for new encounters. 

The South, meanwhile, was still rejoicing over Chan- 
cellorsville, for the cloud on the southwestern horizon 
was at first no bigger than a man's hand. Long treet 
joined Lee from Suffolk with two divisions, swell ng the 
Army of Northern Virginia to eighty thousand or more. 
Never before had it been so numerous, so well appointed, 
or in such good heart. The numerical advantage which 
the Federals had heretofore enjoyed was at this time 
nearly gone, because thousands of enlistments expired 
which could not immediately be made good; volunteer- 
ing had nearly ceased, and the new schemes for recruiting 
were not yet effective. 

Lee took the initiative early in June,^ full of the sense 
of the advantage to be gained from a campaign on 
Northern soil. W r-worn Virginia was to receive a 
respite; Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, as well as 
Washington, might be terrorized, and perhaps captured. 
If only the good-fortune so far enjoyed would continue, 
the Union's military strength might be completely 
wrecked, hesitating Europe won over to recognition, and 
the cause of the South made secure. 

With these fine and not at all extravagant anticipa- 
tions, Lee put in motion his three great corps under the 
lieutenant-generals Ewell (Jackson's successor). Long- 
street, and A. P. Hill. Longstreet was ill at ease. Vicks- 
burg, now in great danger, he thought could only be saved 
by reinforcing Bragg and advancing rapidly on Cin- 
cinnati, in which case Grant might be drawn north. Not- 
withstanding Longstreet's urgency, Lee persisted.^ Ewell. 

^ War Records, Serial Nos. 43 and 44, pp. 1-775 (all on Gettys- 
burg campaign). 

2 Longstreet, Manassas to Appomattox, 331. 

307 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

pouring suddenly down the Shenandoah Valley, "gobbled 
up," as Lincoln put it, Milroy and his whole command 
of some four thousand, June 13th, and presently from 
Maryland invaded Pennsylvania. Longstreet was close 
behind: while the head of Swell's column had been near- 
ing the Potomac, A. P. Hill, who had remained at Fred- 
ericksburg to watch Hooker, as yet inactive on Stafford 
Heights, broke camp and followed northwestward. 
Ewell seized Chambersburg a few days later, then ap- 
peared at Carlisle, and even shook Harrisburg with his 
cannon. The North had, indeed, cause for alarm; the 
farmers of the invaded region were in a panic. "Emer- 
gency men," enlisted for three months, gathered from 
New York, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to 
the threatened points. The great coast cities were face 
to face with a menace hitherto unexperienced. Were 
they really about to be sacked ? What was to be done ? 
There was no indecision either at Washington or in 
the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln's horse-sense, some- 
times tripping, but oftener adequate to deal with un- 
paralleled burdens, homely, terse, and unerring in its ex- 
pression, was at its best in these days. To Hooker, 
meditating movements along and across the Rappa- 
hannock, he wrote: "I would not take any risk of being 
entangled upon the river like an ox jumped half over a 
fence, and liable to be torn by dogs in front and rear 
without a fair chance to gore one way or kick the other." ^ 
And again: "If the head of Lee's army is at Martinsburg 
(near the Potomac), and the tail of it on the plank-road 
between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the animal 
must be very slim somewhere. Could you not break 
him?" "Fret him and fret him," was the President's 
injimction to Hooker, regarding the advance of Lee. 
Well-poised, good-humored, constant, Lincoln gave no 
counsel to Hooker in these days that was not sound. 

* War Records, Serial No. 45, p. 31. 
308 



GETTYSBURG 

Indeed, at this time, Hooker needed little admonition. 
Alert and resourceful, he no sooner detected the move- 
ment of Lee than he suggested an advance upon Rich- 
mond, which was thus left unguarded. Lee, of course, 
had contemplated the possibility of such a move, and, 
with a nod toward Washington, had joked about "swap- 
ping queens." The idea, which Hooker did not press, 
being disapproved. Hooker, turning toward Lee, pro- 
ceeded to "fret him and fret him," his conduct compar- 
ing well with his brilliant management at the opening of 
the campaign of Chancellorsville. The cavalry, greatly 
improved by him, under Pleasonton, with divisions com- 
manded by Buford, Dufifie, and Gregg, was serviceable 
as never before, matching well the troopers of Stuart at 
Brandy Station, Aldie, and Middleburg. Screened on 
his left flank by his cavalry, as, on the other hand, Lee 
was screened by a similar body on his right. Hooker 
marched in columns parallel to those of his f e and farther 
east, yet always interposing between the enemy and 
Washington. As June drew to its end the Confederate 
advance was near Harrisburg, but the Federals were not 
caught napping. Hooker stood at Frederick, in Mary- 
land, his corps stretched on either hand to cover Wash- 
ington and Baltimore, touching hands one with the 
other, and all confronting the foe. 

Lee's previous campaign had shown with what dis- 
regard of military rules he could act, a recklessness up to 
this time justified by good luck and the ineptitude of his 
adversaries. Still contemptuous of risks, he made just 
here an audacious move which was to result unfortunately.^ 
He ordered, or perhaps suffered, Stuart, whom as he drew 
toward the Potomac he had held close on his right flank, 
to undertake with the cavalry a raid around the Federal 

^ F. H. Lee, Robert E. Lee, 265. For R. E. Lee's report of 
Gettysburg, see War Records, Serial No. 44, pp. 293 et seq.; Long, 
Lee, 280. 

309 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

army, after the precedents of the Peninsular and Second 
Bull Run campaigns. Casting loose from his chief, June 
25th, Stuart sallied out eastward and penetrated close to 
the neighborhood of Washington. He did no harm be- 
yond making a few small captures and causing a useless 
scare; on the other hand, he suffered terrible fatigue, his 
exhausted men falling asleep almost by squadrons in 
their saddles. He could get no news from his friends, nor 
could he find Swell's corps, which he had hoped to meet. 
Quite worn out with hardship, he did not become avail- 
able to Lee until the late afternoon of July 2d. A critical 
battle might have had a different issue ^ had the Confed- 
erate cavalry been in its proper place. It was almost a 
chance, through a scout of Longstreet's, that Lee, at 
Chambersburg, all uncertain of the Federal movement, 
heard at last that his enemy was close at hand and threat- 
ening his communications. At once he withdrew Ewell 
southward, so that he might face the danger with his 
three divisions together. 

Meantime a most critical change came about in the 
camp of his foes. Hooker, on ill terms with Halleck, 
and engaged in controversy with him over Halleck's re- 
fusal to a thorize the withdrawal of the garrison of Har- 
per's Ferry, rather petulantly asked to be relieved of 
command, and the President complied at once. Such 
promptness was to be expected. Hooker had been doing 
well; but he had done just as well before Chancellors ville ; 
he was generally distrusted; his best subordinates were 
outspoken as to his lamentable record. The unsparing 
critic of Burnside had now to take his own medicine. A 
battle with Lee could not be ventured upon under a 
commander who could not keep on good terms with the 
administration, had there been nothing else. It was 
perilous swapping of horses in the midst of the stream, 

^ But see controversy between Mosby and Robertson as to 
management of the Confederate cavalry, Battles and Leaders, III, 
251- 



GETTYSBURG 

but Lincoln was forced to do it. Some cried out for the 
restoration of McClellan, and others for that of Fremont. 
The appointment fell to George Gordon Meade, com- 
mander of the Fifth Corps, who, with soldierly dignity, 
obeyed orders, assuming the burden Jtine 28th, with a 
pledge to do his best. 

Meade, a West-Pointer of 1835,^ was a man of ripe 
experience, thoroughly trained in war. He had first risen 
leading a brigade of the Pennsylvania reserves at Me- 
chanicsville, just a year earlier. The good name then 
won he confirmed at Antietam, and still more at Fred- 
ericksburg. He was tall and spare, with an eagle face 
which no one that saw it can forget, a perfect horseman, 
and, though irascible, possessed of strong and manly 
character. In that momentous hour the best men were 
doubtful on what footing they stood. When Lincoln's 
messenger, with a solemn countena ce, handed to Meade 
the appointment, he took it to be an order for his arrest. 
Placed in command, he hesitated not a moment, building 
his strategy upon the foundation laid by his predecessor. 

Meade had with him in the field seven corps of in- 
fantry: the First, commanded temporarily by Double- 
day; the Second, by Hancock, recently promoted; the 
Third, by Sickles; the Fifth, his own corps, now turned 
over to Sykes; the Sixth, Sedgwick, fortimately not dis- 
placed, though so unjustly censured for his noble work 
on May 3d; the Eleventh, Howard; and the Twelfth, 
Slocum. The excellent cavalry divisions were under Bu- 
ford, Kilpatrick, and Gregg; and in the lower places 
capable young officers — Custer, Merritt, Farnsworth, 
Devin, Gamble — were pushing into notice. Of field-guns 
there were three hundred and forty. It was a fault of 
the Union organization that corps, divisions, and brigades 
were too small, bringing about, among other evils, too 
large a number of general and staff officers.^ The Con- 

^ Cullum, Register of Mil. Acad., art. "Meade." 
^ Hunt, in Battles and Leaders, III, 258. 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



federates here were wiser. Lee faced Meade's seven corps 
with but three, and two hundred and ninety-three guns; 
but each Confederate corps was nearly or quite twice as 
large as a Union corps; divisions and brigades were in 



HARRISBURG' 



Carlisle 



ersburg-^ i jy. 




C«^ 






X d6NEsQorartinS)urg 

Q OROBERTSOtJ 



Emmettsbun, 



■ "U niontown. 

^ ^GREQQ 

I' 




POSITION OF FEDERAL AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES, JUNE 30, 1863 
(Federal, «=i Confederate, | ) 

the same relative proportion. The Army of the Potomac 
numbered 88,289 effectives; the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, 75,000.^ 

Meade at once chose and caused to be surveyed a posi- 
tion on Pipe Creek, just south of the Maryland line, as a 
field suitable to be held should the enemy come that 
way. He marched, however, northwestward cautiously, 
his corps in touch but spread wide apart, ready for battle 
and protecting as ever the capital and cities of the coast. ^ 
His especial reliance in this hour of need was John F. 
Reynolds, hand in hand with whom he had proceeded in 

^ Livermore, Numbers and Losses, 102. 

2 War Records, Serial No. 43, pp. 104-119 (Report of Meade). 

312 



GETTYSBURG 

his career from the day when, as fellow-brigadiers, they 
repulsed A. P. Hill at Beaver Dam Creek. This man he 
trusted completely and loved much. He warmly ap- 
proved Hooker's action in committing to Reynolds the 
left wing nearest the enemy, made up of the First, Third, 
and Eleventh corps. This made Reynolds second in 
command. Meade, commander-in-chief, retained the cen- 
tre and right. So the armies hovered, each uncertain 
of the other's exact whereabouts, during the last days of 
June. 

On July ist, though Stuart for the moment was out of 
the campaign, the Federal cavalry was on hand. Bu- 
ford's division, thrown out from the Federal left, moved 
well forward north of the town 
of Gettysburg, and were met 
by Heth's division of Hill's 
corps, marching forward, it is 
said, with no more hostile pur- 
pose at the time than that of 
getting shoes. ^ Buford held his 
line valiantly, being presently 
joined by Reynolds. The two, 
from the cupola of the sem- 
inary near by, studied the pros- 
pect hurriedly. A stand must 

be made then and there, and the First Corps, close at 
hand, was presently in support of the bold horsemen, 
who, dismounted, were with their carbines blocking the 
advance of the hostile infantry. 

The most irreparable and lamentable loss of the entire 
battle now occurred at the very outset. Reynolds fell 
dead at the front, leaving the left divisions without a 
leader in the most critical hour. Heth's advance was 
roughly handled; one brigade was mostly captured, 
Doubleday nodding, with a pleasant " Good-morning, I 




OPENING OF BATTLE OF 
GETTYSBURG, JULY I, 8 A.M. 



^ F. H. Lee, Robert E. Lee, 270. 
2>n 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

am glad to see you," to its commander, his old West Point 
chum Archer, as the latter was passed to the rear among 
the prisoners.^ There were still other captures and much 
fighting; but Ewell was fast arriving by the roads from 
the north; and although Howard, with the Eleventh 
Corps, came up from the south at the same time, the 
heavier Confederate battalions could not be held. Bar- 
low, thrown out far forward into Ewell's path, was at 
once badly wounded, whereupon his division was repulsed. 
The Eleventh Corps in general gave way before Ewell's 
rush, rolling back disordered through the town, where 
large numbers were captured. Fortunately, on the high 
crest of Cemetery Hill, Howard had stationed in reserve 
the division of Steinwehr. What broken brigades and 
regiments, fleeing through the town, could reach this 
point were forthwith rallied and reorganized. Thus, at 
mid-day of July ist, things were hopeful for Lee. The 
First Corps, its flank exposed by the retirement of the 
Eleventh Corps, fell back fighting through Gettysburg to 
Cemetery Hill during the afternoon. Lee swept the 
Federals from the town and the fields and ridges beyond. 
Had Ewell stormed Cemetery Hill at once, Lee might 
have won a great success. 

One of the first marks of a capacity for leadership is 
the power to choose men, and Meade now showed this 
conspicuously. He had lost Reynolds, his main depend- 
ence, a loss that no doubt affected greatly the fortunes of 
the first day's battle; he replaced Reynolds with a young 
officer whom it was necessary to push over the heads of 
several seniors; but a better selection could not have 
been made. Of the splendid captains whom the long 
agony of the Army of the Potomac was slowly evolving, 
probably the best as an all-round soldier was Winfield 
Scott Hancock. Since his West Point training, finished 
in 1844,^ he had had wide and thorough military experi- 

^ Doubleday, Chancellor sville and Gettysburg, 132. 
2 Cullum, Register of Mil. Acad., art. "Hancock." 

314 



GETTYSBURG 



ence, climbing laboriously from colonel to corps com- 
mander, winning out from each grade to the next higher 
through faithful and able service. He could deal with 
figures; was diligent over papers and office drudgery; he 
was a patient drill-master — all these, and at the same 
time so dashing and magnetic in the field that he early 
earned the title "The Superb."^ His vigor, moreover, 
was tempered by judgment. 

Hancock it was whom Meade now sent forward from 
Taneytown, thirteen miles away, when he was anxiously 
gathering in his host, to lead the 
hard-pressed left wing; he was to 
judge whether the position should 
be held, as Reynolds had thought, 
or a retirement attempted toward 
the surveyed lines of Pipe Creek. 
The apparition on Cemetery Hill, 
just before four o'clock, July ist, of 
Hancock upon his sweating charger, 
was equal to a reinforcement by an 
army corps. Fugitives halted; frag- 
ments of formations were welded 
into proper battle-lines. In the re- 
spite given by Ewell, so ill-timed for Lee, the shattered 
First and Eleventh corps found breathing-space and 
plucked up heart. At six o'clock they were joined by 
the Twelfth Corps, that of the steadfast Slocum. Han- 
cock, now feeling that there were troops enough for the 
present, and resolute leaders, galloped back to report to 
his chief. Upon his report Meade concentrated every- 
thing toward Cemetery Hill, the troops plodding through 
the moonlit night. Meade himself reached the field an 
hour past midnight, gaunt and hollow-eyed through want 
of sleep, ^ but clear in mind and stout of heart. At dawn 




BEGINNING OF 
INFANTRY ENGAGE- 
MENT, JULY I, lO A.M. 



^ Walker, Hancock, in Mass. Mil. Hist. Soc. Papers, 
Federal and Confederate Commanders," 49. 

^ Doubleday, Chancellor sville and Gettysburg, 156. 



Some 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

of July 2d the Second Corps, at the head of which Gibbon 
had taken Hancock's place, and the Third Corps, Sickles, 
were at hand. At noon arrived the Fifth, and soon after 
the Sixth, Sedgwick having marched his men thirty-four 
miles in eighteen hours. 

Two parallel ridges, their crests separated by an inter- 
val of not quite a mile, extend at Gettysburg north and 
south. The more westerly of these, called, from the 
Lutheran College there, Seminary Ridge, was the scene 
of the first attack on July ist, but on the second day 
became the main Confederate position. The eastern 
ridge, terminated at its northern end by the town ceme- 
tery, close to which Howard so fortunately stationed 
Steinwehr on the first day, became the Federal strong- 
hold. Cemetery Ridge was really shaped like a fishhook, 
its line curving eastward to the abrupt and wooded Gulp's 




POSITION, JULY 1,3 P.M. 



Hill, the barb of the hook. At the curve the ridge was 
steep and rough with ledges and bowlders; as it ran 
southward its height diminished until, after a mile or so, 
it rose again into two marked elevations — Round Top, 
six hundred feet high, with a spur, Little Round Top, 
just north. 

On the morning of July 2d the Federals lay along this 

316 



GETTYSBURG 

ridge in order as follows: at the extreme right, on Gulp's 
Hill (the fishhook's barb), the Twelfth Corps, Slocum; at 
the bend, near the cemetery, the Eleventh Corps, How- 
ard, reinforced from other bodies; on their left the First, 
now under Newton, and the Second, Gibbon. The First 
and Second corps formed, as it were, the shank of the 
hook, which the Third, Sickles, was expected to prolong. 
The Fifth, on arriving, took place behind the Third; and 
the Sixth, when it appeared from the east, helped to .make 
secure the trains and sent aid elsewhere. The convex 
formation presently proved to be of incalculable value, 
enabling Meade to strengthen rapidly any threatened 
point. Fronting their foe, the Confederates lay in a 
parallel concave line, Ewell close at the curve and in the 
town, and A. P. Hill on Seminary Ridge; this line Long- 
street prolonged southward, his right flank opposed to 
Round Top. The concave formation was an embarrass- 
ment to Lee — no reinforcements could reach threatened 
points without making a wide circuit. 

When Meade, supposing that Sickles had prolonged 
with the Third Corps the southward-stretching line, re- 
viewed the field, he found the Third Corps thrown out far 
in advance, to the Emmittsburg road, which here passed 
along a dominating ridge; the break in the continuity of 
his line filled the general with alarm, but it was too late 
to change. Whether or not Sickles blundered will not 
be argued here. Meade condemned; other good au- 
thorities have approved, among them Sheridan, who re- 
garded as just Sickles' claim that the line marked out by 
Meade was untenable.' 

What happened here will presently be told. 

Lee, too, w^as out of harmony with Longstreet, his well- 
tried second; and the first matter in dispute was the ex- 
pediency of fighting at all at Gettysburg. When Long- 
street, coming from Chambersburg, took in the situation, 

^ A tradition at Gettysburg. 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

he urged upon Lee, bent upon his battle, a turning of the 
Federal left as better strategy, by which the Confederates 
might interpose between Meade and Washington and 
compel Meade to make the attack. Longstreet held Lee 
to be perfect in defensive warfare; on the offensive, how- 
ever, he thought him "over-combative" and liable to 
rashness/ Lee rejected the advice with a touch of irrita- 
tion; and when Longstreet, acquiescing, made a second 
suggestion — namely, for a tactical turning of the Federal 
left instead of a direct assault — Lee pronounced for the 
assault in a manner so peremptory that Longstreet could 
say no more. From first to last at Gettysburg, Long- 
street was ill at ease, in spite of which his blows fell like 
those from the hammer of a war-god. The friends of 
Lee have denounced him for a sluggishness and in- 
subordination that, as they claim, lost for them the 
battle.^ His defence of himself is earnest and pathet- 
ic, of great weight as coming from one of the most 
able and manful figures on either side in the Civil 
War. 

Of Longstreet's three divisions, only one, that of 
McLaws, was on hand with all its brigades on the fore- 
noon of July 2d. At noon arrived Law, completing 
Hood's division. Pickett's division was still behind; 
but in mid-afternoon, without waiting for him. Long- 
street attacked — Hood, with all possible energy, striking 
Sickles in his far-advanced position and working dan- 
gerously around his flank toward the Round Tops. Long- 
street's generals. Hood and afterward Law (Hood falling 
wounded in the first attack), though men of courage and 
dash, assaulted only after having filed written protests, 
feeling sure that the position could be easily turned and 

^ Mrs. Longstreet, hee and Longstreet at High Tide, 83, 84. 

2 For criticisms by the friends of Lee, see Davis, Rise and Fall 
of the Confederate Government, II, 447; F. H. Lee, Robert E. Lee, 
299; William Allan, in Battles and Leaders, III, 355. Able and 
impartial is G. F. R. Henderson, Science of War, 280 et seq. 

318 



GETTYSBURG 

gained with little fighting. But Lee had been peremp- 
tory, and no choice was left/ 

Gouverneur K. Warren, then chief-engineer of the Army 
of the Potomac, despatched by Meade to the left during 



GORDON 




POSITION, JULY 2, 2.3O P.M. 

the afternoon, found the Round Tops undefended. They 
were plainly the key to the Federal position, offering 
points which, if seized by the enemy, would make possible 
an enfilading of the Federal line. Troops of the Twelfth 



^ Hood, Advance and Retreat, 57 et seq. 
319 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Corps, at first stationed there, had been withdrawn and 
their places not supplied. There was not a moment to 
lose. Even as he stood, Warren beheld in the opposite 
woods the gleam of arms from Longstreet's swift advance. 
Leaping down from ledge to ledge, he met a brigade of 
the Fifth Corps, just arrived and marching to the aid of 
Sickles. These he diverted to the eyrie he had so lately 
left; a battery, too, was dragged up over the rocks, and 
none too soon. At that very moment the men of Hood 
charged out of the valley, and the height was held only 
by the most obstinate combat. 

From the valley, meantime, came up a tumult of arms 
which, as the sun threw its rays aslant, spread wider 
and louder. Longstreet and A. P. Hill threw in upon 
the Third Corps every man available; while, on the other 
hand, Meade poured in to its support division after division 
from the Fifth, and at last from the Second and Twelfth.^ 
About six o'clock Sickles fell wounded ; by sunset his line 
was everywhere forced back, though not in rout. By 
dusk the Confederates had mastered all resistance in the 
valley. But the line once reached which Meade had 
originally designed, running north from Litte Round 
Top to Cemetery Ridge, retreat went no farther. That 
line was not crossed by foot of foe. When night fell the 
Round Tops were held firmly, while troops from the 
Sixth Corps guarded the Union left. Nearer the centre 
stood the Third and Fifth, much shattered but still de- 

Vfiant. In a way, what had happened was but a rectifica- 
tion of Meade's line: the Confederates, indeed, had won 
ground, but the losses they had inflicted were no more 
appalling than those they had received. 

Meantime, fighting no less determined and sanguinary 
had taken place at the cemetery and Culp's Hill. Lee's 
plan contemplated a simultaneous attack at the north 
and south; but Ewell, at the north, was late in his 

* For Meade's good judgment and activity, see Walker, in 
Battles and Leaders, III, 406. 

320 



GETTYSBURG 

advance, and the intended effect of distracting the 
Federals was wellnigh lost. The Louisiana brigade 
dashed itself in vain against the height just above the 
town. The Stonewall division fared better; for, the 
Federal defenders being for the most part withdrawn, 
they seized intrenchments on Gulp's Hill, penetrating far 
^ — for Meade a most critical advance, since they came 
within thirty rods of the Baltimore turnpike, where lay 
his trains and reserve ammunition. The South has al- 
ways believed that, had Stonewall Jackson been there, 
the Federal rear would have been reached, and rout and 
capture made certain. 

For both sides it had been a day of terrible experiences, 
and for the Federals the outlook was perhaps more gloomy 
than for their foes. On each flank the Confederates had 
gained an advantage, and Lee probably felt a hopefulness 
which the circumstances did not really justify. Meade 
gathered his generals at midnight in council. It was in 
a little room, but ten or twelve feet square, a group dust- 
covered and sweat-stained, the strong faces sternly ear- 
nest. Some sat on the bed ; some stood ; Warren, wounded, 
stretched out on the floor, was overcome by sleep. There 
was no vote but to fight it out on the morrow. In this 
Meade acquiesced, carefully planning for a retreat, how- 
ever, should the need arise. To Gibbon, commanding the 
Second Corps, placed between the wings, he said: "Your 
turn will come to-morrow. To-day he has struck the 
flanks; next, it will be the centre."^ 

Lee was drawn on by the success of the first day to 
fight again on the second; his success on the second in- 
duced him to try for the third time ; but he had exhausted 
his good-fortune. At earliest dawn of July 3, 1863, be- 
gan a wrestle for the possession of Culp's Hill, Ewell 
heavily reinforcing the Stonewall division which had 
won footing there the night before, and the Twelfth 

^ Gibbon, in Battles and Leaders, III, 313. 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Corps as stubbornly struggling for the ground it had 
lost. It was a fight of six hours, in which the extreme 
northern wings of the two armies only were concerned. 
The Federals won, at a heavy sacrifice of life. 

Elsewhere the armies rested, an ominous silence at last 
reigning on the trampled and bloody field imder the mid- 




ANDERSON 



POSITION, JULY 3, IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON 



day sun. Meade and his soldiers knew that it portended 
danger, and with a sure intuition the army chief was 
watching with especial care the centre, as yet unassailed. 
On the Confederate side, the imhappy Longstreet, at 
odds with his chief as to the wisdom of the campaign 
from the start, and disapproving both its strategy and 
tactics, was now in deeper gloom than ever. Lee had 
determined to assault the Federal centre, and by a cruel 

322 



GETTYSBURG 

turn of fate the blow must be struck by the reluctant 
Longstreet. Of the three great Confederate corps, it 
was only in Longstreet 's that a force remained as yet un- 
wrung by the fearful agonies of the last two days. Pickett's 
division, solidly Virginian, and in the eyes of Lee a Tenth 
Legion in its valor, as yet had done nothing, and was to 
bear the brunt of the attack. "What troops do you de- 
sign for the assault?" Longstreet had asked. Lee, having 
indicated Pickett's division of five thousand, with auxili- 
ary divisions, making an entire number in the charging 
column of fifteen thousand, the Georgian burst out: "I 
have been a soldier from the ground up. I have been 
with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, 
companies, regiments, armies, and should know as well 
as any one what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that 
no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take 
that position." ^ 

But Lee was unmoved. Confident of success, he de- 
spatched Stuart, arrived at last after his raid, so long 
and futile, around beyond the Federal right. When the 
Union centre should be broken and Meade thrown into 
retreat, Stuart was to seize its only practicable route for 
retreat, the Baltimore pike, and make the defeat decisive. 

Meade, meantime, had managed warily and well. At 
his centre stood Hancock, his best lieutenant. There were 
massed the First and Second corps, with reserve troops at 
hand ready to pour in at the word, with batteries bearing 
upon front and flank, every approach guarded, every 
man and horse on the alert. The provost guards, and in 
the rear of all a regiment of cavalry, formed in line be- 
hind, had orders to shoot any faint-hearts who, in the 
crisis, should turn from the foe to flee.^ At one o'clock 
two signal-guns were heard on Seminary Ridge, upon 
which followed a terrible cannonade, appalling but only 
slightly harmful, for the waiting ranks found cover from 

* Mrs. Longstreet, Lee and Longstreet at High Tide, 48. 
^ Pennypacker, Meade, 194. 

323 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the missiles. Feeling sure that this was a prelude to 
something more serious, the Federal chief relaxed his fire 
to spare his ammunition. It was understood on the 
other side that the Federal guns were silenced; and that 
moment having been appointed as the time for the onset, 
Pickett inquired of Longstreet if he should go forward. 
Longstreet, convinced that the charge must fail, made 
no reply, though the question was repeated. "I shall go 
forward," said Pickett, to which his general bowed his 
head. Instantly was heard the footbeat of the fifteen 
thousand, and the heavy-hearted Longstreet, mounting 
his horse, rode out to behold the sacrifice. He has re- 
corded that the column passed him down the slope high- 
hearted, buoyant, hopeful, Pickett riding gracefully, like 
a holiday soldier, with cap set jauntily on his long, au- 
burn locks. ^ 

The silence of the Federal guns had been for a purpose. 
As Pickett's men appeared there was a sudden reopening 
of their tumult; a deadly sequence from round-shot to 
canister, and thence to the Mini^-balls of the infantry. 
The defenders now saw before them, as they peered 
through the battle smoke from their shelter, a solid wedge 
of men, the division of Pickett, flanked by masses on the 
right and left commanded by Pettigrew and Wilcox. 
The column approached, and visibly melted away. Of 
Pickett's commanders of brigades every one went down, 
and their men lay literally in heaps beside them. 

"A thousand fell where Kemper led; 
A thousand died where Garnett bled; 
In blinding flame and strangling smoke 
The remnant through the batteries broke, 
And crossed the line with Armistead." 

A hundred or so, led by Armistead, his cap held aloft on 
his sword-point, actually penetrated the Federal line and 

^ Longstreet, Manassas to Appomattox, 385 et seq. 
324 



GETTYSBURG 

reached the ''clump of trees" just beyond, holding for a 
few moments a battery. Pettigrew and Trimble, just 
north, struggled also for a footing. But the foothold 
was only for a moment; on front and flank the Fed- 
erals converged, and the tide rolled slowly and heav- 
ily rearward. For the South all hope of victory was 
gone. 

As the broken and diminished multitude fell back to 
Seminary Ridge, Lee rode out to meet them. He was 
alone, his staff being all absent, in that supreme moment, 
on desperate errands. His face was calm and resolute, 
his voice confident but sympathetic as he exclaimed, "It 
was all my fault; now help me to do what I can to save 
what is left." It casts a light on his character that even 
in that hour he chided a young officer near for chastising 
his horse: "Don't whip him, captain. I've got just such 
another foolish horse myself, and whipping does no good." ^ 
Longstreet declares Lee said again that night, about the 
bivouac-fire: "It was all my fault. You ought not to 
have made that last attack"; and that still again Lee 
wrote to him at a later time, "If I had only taken your 
advice, even on the 3d, and moved around the Federal 
left, how different all might have been!" ^ 

Longstreet also records that he fully expected a counter- 
stroke at once, and looked to his batteries, only to find the 
ammunition exhausted; but they were his only reliance 
for defence. The Federal cavalry, at that moment at- 
tacking his right, occupied troops who might otherwise 
have been brought to the centre. 

Should there have been a counter-stroke? Hancock, 
lying wounded almost to death in an ambulance, reasoned 
that, because he had been struck by a tenpenny nail, the 
Confederate ammunition must be exhausted; he had 
strength to dictate an approval if the charge should be 

^ Fremantle, Three Months in the Southern States, 274 et seq. 
Confirmed to the writer by General E. P. Alexander, who heard 
the rebuke. ^ Battles and Leaders, III, 349. 

325 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

ordered.* Lincoln always felt that it should have been 
made, and lamented that he did not go to Gettysburg 
himself and push matters on the field, as the crisis re- 
quired.^ We can surmise what Grant would have done 
had he instead of Meade, as the sun lowered, looked across 
the valley from Cemetery Ridge. But the case may be 
put strongly for Meade: with his best lieutenants dead 
or wounded, worn out himself, whom else could he trust ? 
And, in the disorder of his line, how could he tell how 
far his own army had been shattered in the desperate 
fights, or what was Lee's condition ? It was only prudent 
to let well enough alone. Nevertheless, a little of such 
imprudence as his adversary was constantly showing 
might perhaps have led to Lee's complete destruction.^ 
During the three fearful days the Federals had lost 3155 
killed, 14,529 wounded, 5365 missing — a total of about 
23,000; the Confederates, 3903 killed, 18,735 wounded, 
5425 missing — a total of about 28,000.^ 

As it was, Lee stood defiantly on Seminary Ridge full 
twenty-four hours longer. Then, gathering his army 
about him, and calling in the cavalry which, during 
Pickett's charge, was receiving severe punishment on its 
own account at the hands of Gregg and his division, he 
slowly withdrew. Practically undisturbed, he crossed 
the Potomac, followed with great deliberation by the army 
that had conquered but failed to crush. 

Lincoln's disappointment was never greater than over 
the lame outcome of Gettysburg. ''We had them within 
our grasp," he cried. ''We had only to stretch forth our 
hands and they were ours, and nothing I could say or do 



* Committee on Conduct of the War, Report, pt. i (186/-1865), 
408 et seq. 

2 Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, VII, 278. 

^ For a minute discussion of Meade's management, and much 
testimony, see Committee on Conduct of the War, Report, pt. i 
(1864-1865), 295-524. 

* Livermore, Numbers and Losses, 102. 

326 



GETTYSBURG 

could make the army move. Our army held the War in 
the hollow of their hand and they would not close it." 
The honor that fell to Meade for his splendid service was 
deserved. While the criticism was violent he asked to 
be relieved. But the better nature of the North made 
itself evident at last, and he was retained. It was felt 
that he had served his country most nobly, and, though 
possibly falling short of the highest, deserved to be for- 
ever cherished among the immortals. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 

MILITARY, BETWEEN THE BATTLES OF 

GETTYSBURG AND VICKSBURG, 1863, 

AND APPOMATTOX, 1865 

1863. Surrender of Port Hudson. Conscription riots 
in New York. The Confederate cavalry leader. General 
Morgan, makes a raid into Indiana. Confederate vic- 
tory at Chickamauga. Federal victories of Chattanooga, 
Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. Admission 
of Nevada into the Union. The Archduke Maximilian, 
of Austria, lands at Vera Cruz and assumes the crown of 
Mexico, with the support of French troops. 

1864. The Red River expedition. Grant supersedes 
Halleck as commander-in-chief of the Federal armies. 
Storming of Fort Pillow by the Confederates. General 
Sherman begins his march on Atlanta. Battle of the 
Wilderness. Battle of Spottsylvania Court-house. Sec- 
ond battle of Cold Harbor. Siege of Petersburg. Sink- 
ing of the Confederate cruiser Alabama by the Kearsarge. 
Confederate raid into Maryland and Pennsylvania. 
Federal naval victory of Mobile Bay. The Federals 
occupy Atlanta. Battle of Winchester and Cedar Creek. 
Abraham Lincoln re-elected President. Federal occupa- 
tion of Savannah. 

1865. The Federals capture Fort Fisher. General Sher- 

327 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

man occupies Charleston. Organization of the Freed- 
men's Bureau. Battle of Five Forks. Occupation of 
Petersburg and Richmond by the Federals, April 3rd. 
Surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court-House, 
April 9th. Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, April 14th. 
Andrew Johnson succeeds to the Presidency. Capture of 
Jefferson Davis in Georgia. End of the Civil War. 
Proclamation of amnesty. The Thirteenth Amendment, 
abolishing slavery in the United States, becomes a part 
of the Constitution. 



XX 

THE LAST SCENE— APPOMATTOX, 1865 

WHEN, on the night of the 8th of April, 1865, the 
cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac reached 
the two or three little houses that made up the settlement 
at Appomattox Depot — the station on the South-side 
Railroad that connects Appomattox Court-house with 
the travelling world — it must have been nearly or quite 
dark. At about nine o'clock or half-past, while standing 
near the door of one of the houses, it occurred to me that 
it might be well to try and get a clearer idea of our im- 
mediate surroundings, as it was not impossible that we 
might have hot work here or near here before the next 
day fairly dawned upon us. 

My "striker" had just left me with instructions to 
have my horse fed, groomed, and saddled before daylight. 
As he turned to go he paused and put this question, " Do 
you think, Colonel, that we'll get General Lee's army 
to-morrow?" 

" I don't know," was my reply; "but we will have some 
savage fighting if we don't." 

As the sturdy young soldier said "Good-night, sir," 
and walked away, I knew that if the enlisted men of our 
army could forecast the coming of the end so plainly, 
there was little hope of the escape of the Army of Northern 
Virginia. 

I walked up the road a short distance, and looked care- 
fully about me to take my bearings. It was a mild spring 
night, with a cloudy sky, and the soft, mellow smell of 
earthiness in the atmosphere that not infrequently por- 

329 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

tends rain. If rain came, then it might retard the arrival 
of our infantry, which I knew General Sheridan was most 
anxious should reach us at the earliest possible moment. 
A short distance from where I stood was the encampment 
of our headquarters escort, with its orderlies, grooms, 
officers' servants, and horses. Just beyond it could be 
seen the dying camp-fires of a cavalry regiment, lying 
close in to cavalry corps headquarters. This regiment 
was in charge of between six and eight hundred prisoners, 
who had fallen into our hands just at dark, as Generals 
Custer and Devin, at the head of their respective cavalry 
commands, had charged into the station and captured 
four railway trains of commissariat supplies, which had 
been sent here to await the arrival of the Confederate 
army, together with twenty-six pieces of artillery. F'or 
a few moments the artillery had greatly surprised and 
astonished us, for its presence was entirely unexpected, 
and as it suddenly opened on the charging columns of 
cavalry it looked for a short time as though we might 
have all unwittingly fallen upon a division of infantry. 
However, it turned out otherwise. Our cavalry, after 
the first recoil, boldly charged in among the batteries, 
and the gunners, being without adequate support, sensibly 
surrendered. The whole affair was for us a most gratify- 
ing termination of a long day's ride, as it must have 
proved later on a bitter disappointment to the weary and 
hungry Confederates pressing forward from Petersburg 
and Richmond in the vain hope of escape from the 
Federal troops, who were straining every nerve to over- 
take them and compel a surrender. To-night the cavalry 
corps was in their front and squarely across the road to 
Lynchburg, and it was reasonably certain, should our 
infantry get up in time on the morrow, that the almost 
ceaseless marching and fighting of the last ten days 
were to attain their legitimate result in the capitulation 
of General Lee's army. 

As I stood there in the dark thinking over the work 

33^ 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 




of the twelve preceding days, it was borne in upon me 
with startling emphasis that to-morrow's sun would rise 
big with the fate of the Southern Confederacy. 

Just before daylight on the morning of the 9th of 
April, I sat down to a cup of coffee, but had hardly be- 
gun to drink it when I heard the orninQus sound of a 

33^ 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

scattering skirmish fire, apparently in the direction of 
Appomattox Court-house. Hastily swallowing what re- 
mained of the coffee, I reported to General Sheridan, who 
directed me to go to the front at once. Springing into 
the saddle, I galloped up the road, my heart being greatly 
lightened by a glimpse of two or three infantrymen stand- 
ing near a camp-fire close by the depot — convincing proof 
that our hoped-for reinforcements were within supporting 
distance. 

It was barely daylight as I sped along, but before I 
reached the cavalry brigade of Colonel C. H. Smith, that 
held the main road between Appomattox Court-house 
and Lynchburg, a distance of about two miles northeast 
from Appomattox Depot, the enemy had advanced to 
the attack, and the battle had opened. When ordered 
into position late the preceding night, Colonel Smith had 
felt his way in the dark as closely as possible to Appo- 
mattox Court-house, and at or near midnight had halted 
on a ridge, on which he had thrown up a breastwork of 
rails. This he occupied by dismounting his brigade, and 
also with a section of horse-artillery, at the same time 
protecting both his flanks by a small mounted force. As 
the enemy advanced to the attack in the dim light of 
early dawn he could not see the led horses of our cavalry, 
which had been sent well to the rear, and was evidently 
at a loss to determine what was in his front. The result 
was that after the first attack he fell back to get his artil- 
lery in position, and to form a strong assaulting column 
against what must have seemed to him a line of infantry. 
This was most fortunate for us, for by the time he again 
advanced in full force, and compelled the dismounted 
cavalry to slowly fall back by weight of numbers, our in- 
fantry was hurrying forward from Appomattox Depot 
(which place it had reached at four o'clock in the morn- 
ing), and we had gained many precious minutes. At 
this time most of our cavalry was fighting dismounted, 
stubbornly retiring. But the Confederates at last real- 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

ized that there was nothing but a brigade of dismounted 
cavalry and a few batteries of horse-artillery in their 
immediate front, and pushed forward grimly and de- 
terminedly, driving the dismounted troopers slowly 
ahead of them. 

I had gone to the left of the road, and was in a piece 
of woods with some of our cavalrymen (who by this time 
had been ordered to fall back to their horses and give 
place to our infantry, which was then coming up), when 
a couple of rounds of canister tore through the branches 
just over my head. Riding back to the edge of the woods 
in the direction from which the shots came, I found my- 
self within long pistol range of a section of a battery of 
light artillery. It was in position near a country road 
that came out of another piece of woods about two hun- 
dred yards in its rear, and was pouring a rapid fire into 
the woods from which I had just emerged. As I sat on 
my horse quietly watching it from behind a rail fence, 
the lieutenant commanding the pieces saw me, and, riding 
out for a hundred yards or more toward where I was, 
proceeded to cover me with his revolver. We fired to- 
gether — a miss on both sides. The second shot was un- 
comfortably close, so far as I was concerned, but as I took 
deliberate aim for the third shot I became aware that in 
some way his pistol was disabled; for using both hands 
and all his strength I saw that he could not cock it. I 
had him covered, and had he turned I think I should 
have fired. He did nothing of the sort. Apparently 
accepting his fate, he laid his revolver across the pommel 
of his saddle, fronted me quietly and coolly, and looked 
me steadily in the face. The whole thing had been 
something in the nature of a duel, and I felt that to fire 
under the circumstances savored too much of murder. 
Besides, I knew that at a word from him the guns would 
have been trained on me where I sat. He, too, seemed 
to appreciate the fact that it was an individual fight, and 
manfully and gallantly forbore to call for aid ; so, lowering 

333 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

and uncocking my pistol, I replaced it in my holster, and 
shook my fist at him, which action he cordially recipro- 
cated, and then, turning away, I rode back into the 
woods. 

About this time the enemy's artillery ceased firing, and 
I again rode rapidly to the edge of the woods, just in time 
to see the guns limber up and retire down the wood road 
from which they had come. The lieutenant in command 
saw me and stopped. We simultaneously uncovered, 
waved our hats to each other, and bowed. I have always 
thought he was one of the bravest men I ever faced. 

I rode back again, passing through our infantry line, 
intending to go to the left and find the cavalry, which I 
knew would be on the flank somewhere. Suddenly I be- 
came conscious that firing had ceased along the whole 
line. 

I had not ridden more than a hundred yards when I 
heard some one calling my name. Turning, I saw one of 
the headquarters aides, who came galloping up, stating 
that he had been hunting for me for the last fifteen min- 
utes, and that General Sheridan wished me to report to 
him at once. I followed him rapidly to the right on the 
wood path in the direction from which he had come. 

As soon as I could get abreast of him I asked if he 
knew what the general wanted me for. 

Turning in his saddle, with hi? eyes fairly ablaze, he 
said: "Why, don't you know? A white flag." 

All I could say was, "Really?" 

He answered by a nod; and then we leaned toward 
each other and shook hands; but nothing else was said. 

A few moments more and we were out of the woods in 
the open fields. I saw the long line of battle of the 
Fifth Army Corps halted, the men standing at rest, the 
standards being held butt on earth, and the flags floating 
out languidly on the spring breeze. As we passed them I 
noticed that the officers had generally grouped them- 
selves in front of the centre of their regiments, sword in 

334 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

hand, and were conversing in low tones. The men were 
leaning wearily on their rifles, in the position of parade 
rest. All were anxiously looking to the front, in the 
direction toward which the enemy's line had withdrawn, 
for the Confederates had fallen back into a little swale 
or valley beyond Appomattox Court-house, and were 
not then visible from this part of our line. 

We soon came up to General Sheridan and his staff. 
They were dismounted, sitting on the grass by the side 
of a broad country road that led to the Court-house. This 
was about one or two hundred yards distant, and, as we 
afterward found, consisted of the court-house, a small 
tavern, and eight or ten houses, all situated on this same 
road or street. 

Conversation was carried on in a low tone, and I was 
told of the blunder of one of the Confederate regiments 
in firing on the general and staff after the flag of truce 
had been accepted. I also heard that General Lee was 
then up at the little village awaiting the arrival of General 
Grant, to whom he had sent a note, through General 
Sheridan, requesting a meeting to arrange terms of sur- 
render. Colonel Newhall, of our headquarters staff, had 
been despatched in search of General Grant, and might 
be expected up at almost any moment. 

It was, perhaps, something more than an hour and a 
half later, to the best of my recollection, that General 
Grant, accompanied by Colonel Newhall, and followed 
by his staff, came rapidly riding up to where we were 
standing by the side of the road, for we had all risen at 
his approach. When within a few yards of us he drew 
rein, and halted in front of General Sheridan, acknowl- 
edged our salute, and then, leaning slightly forward in 
his saddle, said, in his usual quiet tone, " Good-morning, 
Sheridan; how are you?" 

"First-rate, thank you. General," was the reply. 
"How are you?" 

General Grant nodded in return, and said, "Is Gen- 

335 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

eral Lee up there?" indicating the court-house by a 
glance. 

"Yes," was the response, "he's there." And then 
followed something about the Confederate Army, but I 
did not clearly catch the import of the sentence. 

" Very well, then," said General Grant. " Let's go up." 

General Sheridan, together with a few selected officers 
of his staff, mounted and joined General Grant and staff. 
Together they rode to Mr. McLean's house, a plain two- 
story brick residence in the village, to which General Lee 
had already repaired, and where he was known to be 
awaiting General Grant's arrival. Dismounting at the 
gate, the whole party crossed the yard, and the senior 
officers present went up onto the porch which protected 
the front of. the house. It extended nearly across the 
entire house and was railed in, except where five or six 
steps' led up the centre opposite the front door, which was 
flanked by two small wooden benches, placed close against 
the house on either side of the entrance. The door 
opened into a hall that ran the entire length of the house, 
and on either side of it was a single room with a window 
in each end of it, and two doors, one at the front and 
one at the rear of each of the rooms, opening on the hall. 
The room to the left, as you entered, was the parlor, and 
it was in this room that General Lee was awaiting General 
Grant's arrival. 

As General Grant stepped onto the porch he was met 
by Colonel Babcock, of his staff, who had in the morning 
been sent forward with a message to General Lee. He 
had found him resting at the side of the road, and had 
accompanied him to Mr. McLean's house. 

General Grant went into the house, accompanied by 
General Rawlins, his chief of staff; General Seth Williams, 
his adjutant-general; General Rufus Ingalls, his quarter- 
master-general; and his two aides, General Horace Porter 
and Lieutenant-Colonel Babcock. After a little time Gen- 
eral Sheridan; General M. R. Morgan, General Grant's 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

chief commissary; Lieutenant-Colonel Ely Parker, his 
military secretary; Lieutenant-Colonel T. S. Bowers, one 
of his assistant adjutant-generals; and Captain Robert 
T. Lincoln and Adam Badeau, aides-de-camp, went into 
the house at General Grant's express invitation, sent out, 
I believe, through Colonel Babcock, who came to the 
hall-door for the purpose, and they were, I was after- 
ward told, formally presented to General Lee. After a 
lapse of a few more minutes quite a number of these 
officers, including General Sheridan, came out into the 
hall and onto the porch, leaving General Grant and 
General Lee, Generals Rawlins, Ingalls, Seth Williams, 
and Porter, and Lieutenant-Colonels Babcock, Ely Par- 
ker, and Bowers, together with Colonel Marshall, of 
General Lee's staff, in the room, while the terms of the 
surrender were finally agreed upon and formally signed. 
These were the only officers, therefore, who were actually 
present at the official surrender of the Army of Northern 
Virginia. 

After quite a length of time Colonel Babcock came to 
the door again, opened it, and glanced out. As he did 
so he placed his forage-cap on one finger, twirled it 
around, and nodded to us all, as much as to say, "It's all 
settled," and said something in a low tone to General 
Sheridan. Then they, accompanied by General E. O. C. 
Ord, the commanding-general of the Army of the James, 
who had just ridden up to the house, entered the house 
together, the hall-door partly closed again after them, 
leaving quite a number of us staff-officers upon the porch. 

While the conference between Generals Grant and Lee 
was still in progress. Generals Merritt and Custer, of the 
Cavalry Corps, and several of the infantry generals, to- 
gether with the rest of General Sheridan's staff-officers, 
came into the yard, and some of them came up on the 
porch. Colonel Babcock came out once more, and Gen- 
eral Merritt went back to the room with him at his re- 
quest; but most, if not all, of the infantry generals left 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

us and went back to their respective commands while 
the conference was still in progress and before it ended. 

Just to the right of the house, as we faced it on enter- 
ing, stood a soldierly looking orderly in a tattered gray 
uniform, holding three horses — one a fairly well-bred- 
looking gray, in good heart, though thin in flesh, which, 
from the accoutrements, I concluded belonged to Gen- 
eral Lee; the others, a thoroughbred bay and a fairly 
good brown, were undoubtedly those of the staff-officer 
who had accompanied General Lee and of the orderly 
himself. He was evidently a sensible soldier, too, for 
as he held the bridles he baited the animals on the young 
grass, and they ate as though they needed all they had 
a chance to pick up. 

I cannot say exactly how long the conference between 
Generals Grant and Lee lasted, but after quite a while, 
certainly more than two hours, I became aware from the 
movement of chairs within that it was about to break 
up. I had been sitting on the top step of the porch, 
writing in my field note-book, but I closed it at once, 
and, stepping back on the porch, leaned against the rail- 
ing nearly opposite and to the left of the door, and ex- 
pectantly waited. As I did so the inner door slowly 
opened, and General Lee stood before me. As he paused 
for a few seconds, framed in by the doorway, ere he slow- 
ly and deliberately stepped out upon the porch, I took 
my first and last look at the great Confederate chieftain. 
This is what I saw: A finely formed man, apparently 
about sixty years of age, well above the average height, 
with a clear, ruddy complexion — just then suffused by 
a deep - crimson flush that, rising from his neck, over- 
spread his face and even slightly tinged his broad fore- 
head, which, bronzed where it had been exposed to the 
weather, was clear and beautifully white where it had 
been shielded by his hat — deep-brown eyes, a flrm but 
well-shaped Roman nose, abundant gray hair, silky and 
fine in texture, with a full gray beard and mustache, 

338 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

neatly trimmed and not over-long, but which, never- 
theless, almost completely concealed his mouth. A 
splendid uniform of Confederate gray cloth, that had 
evidently seen but little service, was closely buttoned 
about him and fitted him to perfection. An exquisitely 
mounted sword, attached to a gold-embroidered Russia- 
leather belt, trailed loosely on the floor at his side, and 
in his right hand he carried a broad-brimmed, soft, gray 
felt hat, encircled by a golden cord, while in his left he 
held a pair of buckskin gauntlets. Booted and spurred, 
still vigorous and erect, he stood bareheaded, looking out 
of the open doorway, sad-faced and weary — a soldier and 
a gentleman, bearing himself in defeat with an all-uncon- 
scious dignity that sat well upon him. 

The moment the open door revealed the Confederate 
commander, each officer present sprang to his feet, and 
as General Lee stepped out onto the porch every hand 
was raised in military salute. Placing his hat on his 
head, he mechanically but courteously returned it, and 
slowly crossed the porch to the head of the steps leading 
down to the yard, meanwhile keeping his eyes intently 
fixed in the direction of the little valley over beyond the 
Court-house in which his army lay. Here he paused 
and slowly drew on his gaimtlets, smiting his gloved 
hands into each other several times after doing so, evi- 
dently utterly oblivious of his surroundings. Then, ap- 
parently recalling his thoughts, he glanced deliberately 
right and left, and, not seeing his horse, he called, in a 
hoarse, half-choked voice, "Orderly! Orderly!" 

"Here, General, here!" was the quick response. The 
alert young soldier was holding the general's horse near 
the side of the house. He had taken out the bit, slipped 
the bridle over the horse's neck, and the wiry gray was 
eagerly grazing on the fresh yoimg grass about him. 

Descending the steps, the general passed to the left 
of the house and stood in front of his horse's head while 
he was being bridled. As the orderly was buckling the 

339 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

throat-latch, the general reached up and drew the fore- 
lock out from under the brow-band, parted and smoothed 
it, and then gently patted the gray charger's forehead in 
an absent-minded way, as one who loves horses but 
whose thoughts are far away might all unwittingly do. 
Then, as the orderly stepped aside, he caught up the 
bridle-reins in his left hand, and, seizing the pommel of 
the saddle with the same hand, he caught up the slack 
of the reins in his right hand, and placing it on the can tie 
he put his foot in the stirrup and swung himself slowly 
and wearily, but nevertheless firmly, into the saddle (the 
old dragoon mount), letting his right hand rest for an 
instant or two on the pommel as he settled into his seat, 
and as he did so there broke unguardedly from his lips a 
long, low, deep sigh, almost a groan in its intensity, while 
the flush on his neck and face seemed, if possible, to take 
on a little deeper hue. 

Shortly after General Lee passed down the steps he 
was followed by an erect, slightly built, soldierly looking 
officer, in a neat but somewhat worn gray uniform, a 
man with an anxious and thoughtful face, wearing spec- 
tacles, who glanced neither to the right nor left, keeping 
his eyes straight before him. Notwithstanding this, I 
doubt if he missed anything within the range of his vision. 
This officer, I was afterward told, was Colonel Marshall, 
one of the Confederate adjutants-general, the member of 
General Lee's staff whom he had selected to accompany 
him. 

As soon as the colonel had mounted, General Lee drew 
up his reins, and, with the colonel riding on his left and 
followed by the orderly, moved at a slow walk across the 
yard toward the gate. 

Just as they started, General Grant came out of the 
house, crossed the porch, and passed down the steps into 
the yard. Ac this time he was nearly forty-two years of 
age, of middle height, not over-weighted with flesh, but, 
nevertheless, stockily and sturdily built, with light com- 

340 




DEPARTURE OF GENERAL LEE AFTER THE SURRENDER 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

plexion, mild, gray-blue eyes, finely formed Grecian nose, 
an iron- willed mouth, brown hair, full brown beard with 
a tendency toward red rather than black, and in his 
manner and all his movements there was a strength of 
purpose, a personal poise, and a cool, quiet air of dignity, 
decision, and soldierly confidence that were very good 
to see. On this occasion he wore a plain blue army 
blouse, with shoulder-straps set with three silver stars 
equidistant, designating his rank as lieutenant general 
commanding the armies of the United States; it was un- 
buttoned, showing a blue military vest, over which and 
under his blouse was buckled a belt, but he was without 
a sword. His trousers were dark blue and tucked into 
top-boots, which were without spurs, but heavily splashed 
with mud, for, once he knew that General Lee was waiting 
for him at Appomattox Court-house, he had ridden rapid- 
ly across the country, over road and field and through 
woods, to meet him. He wore a peculiar, stiff -brimmed, 
sugar-loaf-crowned, campaign hat of black felt, and his 
uniform was partly covered by a light-weight, dark-blue, 
waterproof, semi-military cloak, with a full cape, unbut- 
toned and thrown back, showing the front of his uniform, 
for while the day had developed into warm, bright, and 
beautifully sunny weather, the early morning had been 
damp, slightly foggy, and presaged rain. 

As he reached the foot of the steps and started across 
the yard to the fence where, inside the gate, the orderlies 
were holding his horse and those of several of his staff- 
officers, General Lee, on his way to the gate, rode across 
his path. Stopping suddenly, General Grant looked up, 
and both generals simultaneously raised their hands in 
military salute. After General Lee had passed, General 
Grant crossed the yard and sprang lightly and quickly 
into his saddle. He was riding his splendid bay horse 
Cincinnati, and it would have been difficult to find a 
firmer seat, a lighter hand, or a better rider in either army. 

As he was about to go out of the gate he halted, turned 

341 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

his horse, and rode at a walk toward the porch of the 
house, where, among others, stood General Sheridan and 
myself. Stopping in front of the general, he said, "Sheri-. 
dan, where will you make your headquarters to-night?" 

"Here, or near here; right here in this yard, probably,'* 
was the reply. 

"Very well, then; I'll know where to find you in case 
I wish to communicate. Good-day." 

"Good-day, General," was the response, and with a 
military salute General Grant turned and rode away. 

As he rode forward and halted at the porch to make 
this inquiry, I had my wished-for opportunity, but my 
eyes sought his face in vain for any indication of what 
was passing in his mind. Whatever may have been 
there, as Colonel Newhall has well written, "not a muscle 
of his face told tales on his thoughts"; and if he felt any 
elation, neither his voice, features, nor his eyes betrayed 
it. Once out of the gate, General Grant, followed by his 
staff, turned to the left and moved off at a rapid trot. 

General Lee continued on his way toward his army 
at a walk, to be received by his devoted troops with 
cheers and tears, and to sit down and pen a farewell order 
that, to this day, no old soldier of the Army of Northern 
Virginia can read without moistening eyes and swelling 
throat. 

General Grant, on his way to his field headquarters on 
this eventful Sunday evening, dismounted, sat quietly 
down by the roadside, and wrote a short and simple de- 
spatch, which a galloping aide bore at full speed to the 
nearest telegraph station. On its reception in the nation's 
capital this despatch was flashed over the wires to every 
hamlet in the country, causing every steeple in the 
North to rock to its foundation, and sending one tall, 
gaunt, sad-eyed, weary-hearted man in Washington to 
his knees, thanking God that he had lived to see the 
beginning of the end, and that he had at last been vouch- 
safed the assurance that he had led his people aright. 

342 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY 

MILITARY, BETWEEN APPOMATTOX, 1865, 

AND THE BATTLES OF MANILA BAY 

AND SANTIAGO DE CUBA, 1898 

1866. The Civil Rights Bill is passed over President 
Johnson's veto. Adoption of the Fourteenth Amend- 
ment granting political rights to the negro. (This amend- 
ment was proclaimed part of the Constitution in 1868.) 
Successful establishment of ocean telegraphy between 
Europe and America. Fenian raid into Canada. 

1867. Admission of Nebraska into the Union. Passage 
of the Reconstruction Act. Purchase of Alaska from 
Russia. Dominion of Canada constituted. Maximilian, 
abandoned by the French in Mexico, is captured and 
shot. 

1868. Impeachment and trial of President Johnson. 
The impeachment fails. Ulysses S. Grant elected Presi- 
dent. Outbreak of Cuban insurrection. 

1869. Adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment prohibit- 
ing the States from denying the right to vote to any citi- 
zen of the United States on account of race or color. 
(This amendment was proclaimed a part of the Constitu- 
tion in 1870.) Completion of the Pacific Railway. 

1870. Completion of reconstruction in the Southern 
States. Death of Lee and Farragut. 

187 1. Treaty of Washington for the settlement of the 
"Alabama" Claims. Great Fire in Chicago. Hall's Arctic 
Expedition reaches lat. 82^ 16'. 

1872. The Geneva Tribunal makes an award to the 
United States on account of the ** Alabama" Claims. 
The Emperor of Germany decides San Juan boundary 
question. Ulysses S. Grant re-elected President. Out- 
break of the Modoc War. 

1873. Surrender of the Modocs. Capture of the Ameri- 

343 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

can steamer Virginius by a Spanish gunboat. Surrender 
of the Virginius. Financial Panic. 

1874. President Grant vetoes Inflation Bill. Race riots 
in the Southern States. 

1875. Supplementary Civil Rights Bill passed. 

1876. The Custer Massacre by the Sioux Indians. 
Admission of Colorado into the Union. Disputed Presi- 
dential Election (Hayes, Republican, and Tilden, 
Democrat). The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. 
Invention of the Telephone. 

1877. The Electoral Commission awards the Presidency 
to Rutherford B. Hayes. Great Labor Strike throughout 
the United States. Campaign against the Nez Perce 
Indians. 

1878. End of the Ten Years' War in Cuba. China sends 
a minister to Washington for the first time. 

1879. Resirmption of Specie Payment in the United 
States. 

1880. James A. Garfield elected President. Treaty 
with China relative to the restriction of Chinese Immi- 
gration. 

1 88 1. Assassination of James A. Garfield. Chester A. 
Arthur succeeds to the Presidency. Construction of the 
Panama Canal begun by the French. 

1882. Verdict in the Star Route case. 

1883. Passage of the Civil Service Bill. Northern 
Pacific Railroad opened. 

1884. Grover Cleveland elected President. 

1885. United States government guarantees transit 
across Isthmus of Panama threatened by insurgents, and 
enforces this with troops. 

1886. Extensive Labor Strikes in the United States. 
The "Haymarket" Anarchists' riot at Chicago. Earth- 
quake at Charleston. Anti-Chinese riots in Seattle. Rail- 
road riots in the West. United States troops ordered to 
St. Louis. Act passed to increase navy. 

1887. Interstate Commerce Bill passed. Centennial Cel- 

344 



THE LAST SCENE — APPOMATTOX 

ebration of the Constitution. Execution of the Chicago 
"Haymarket" Anarchists. Blizzard throughout the 
northwestern section of the United States. 

1888. Blizzard in the East. Benjamin Harrison elected 
President. Dakota divided into North and South Dakota. 

1889. Wreck of the U. S. steamers Trenton, Vandalia, 
and Nipsic at the Samoan Islands. The territory of 
Oklahoma opened for settlement. Flood at Johnstown, 
Pennsylvania. Centennial celebration of Washington's 
inauguration. Admission of North and South Dakota 
into the Union; also of Montana and Washington. De- 
partment of Agriculture created. 

1890. The McKinley Tariff Bill passed. Admission of 
Wyoming into the Union. The Mormon Church formally 
abandons Polygamy. 

1 89 1. The Pine Ridge Indian outbreak. Seizure of the 
Chilian insurgent steamer Itata. Assault upon sailors 
of the U. S. Cruiser Baltimore at Valparaiso. 

1892. An Ultimatum submitted to Chili; the latter 
country makes an apology and pays an indemnity. The 
Homestead Labor Riots in Pennsylvania. Railroad 
riots at Buffalo. National Guard ordered out. Grover 
Cleveland elected President. 

1893. Opening of the World's Columbian Exposition 
at Chicago. Admission of Utah and Arizona into the 
Union. 

1894. Great Railway Strike at Chicago. President 
Cleveland recognizes the new Republic of Hawaii. Kear- 
sarge lost on Roncador Reef. 

1895. Steamship Alliance fired upon by a Spanish 
Cruiser. Spain apologizes. Spain declares martial law 
in Cuba. Cuban revolutionists proclaim independence, 
adopt a constitution, establish a republican government, 
and unfurl the flag of the revolution of 1868-78. Mes- 
sage of President Cleveland regarding the boundary dis- 
pute between Great Britain and Venezuela. 

1896. William McKinley elected President. President 

345 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

Cleveland issues a proclamation against the Cuban 
Filibusters. International Arbitration Congress meets 
at Washington. 

1897. The United States recognizes the belligerency of 
the Cuban insurgents. Venezuela boundary treaty rati- 
fied. Hawaii annexed to the United States. 

1898. The U. S. battle-ship Maine is blown up in Havana 
Harbor, with great loss of life, on the night of February 1 5th. 
On April 20th Congress directs the President to intervene 
between Spain and Cuba. On April 23 d the President 
issues a call for one hundred and twenty-five thousand 
volunteers, and on April 26th Congress authorizes an in- 
crease of the regular army to 61,919 officers and men. 
On April 25th Congress declares war between Spain and 
the United States as existing since April 21st. 



XXI 

THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY, 1898 

FOR more than a century the island of Cuba had been 
an object of peculiar interest and concern to the 
United States.^ During the first part of the nineteenth 
century the fear was that Cuba might be acquired by 
Great Britain or France, and thus a strong European 
power would be established at the very gate of the 
American republic. Manifestly, it was then the policy 
of the United States to guarantee the possession of the 
island to Spain. But after the Mexican War the idea of 
exterritorial expansion entered more and more largely 
into American statesmanship. The South looked upon 
Cuba as a desirable addition to slave-holding territory, 
and it was apparent to every eye that the island occupied 
an all-important strategic position in relation to the pro- 
posed canal routes across the Isthmus of Panama. 

In 1822 propositions for annexation came from Cuba 
to the United States, and Monroe sent an agent to in- 
vestigate. Later, annexation was a recurrent subject 
favored by the South, which saw a field for the extension 
of slavery. In 1848 the American minister at Madrid 
was instructed by President Polk to sound the Spanish 
government upon the question of sale or cession. But 
Spain declined even to consider such a proposition. In 
1854 the so-called " Ostend Manifesto," drawn up by 

^ See the chapter on the Monroe Doctrine in The Rise of the 
New West, by Prof. F. J. Turner, and also chaps, i and xi of 
America as a World Power, by Prof. G. H. Latane. {The Ameri- 
can Nation, Harper & Brothers.) — [Editor.] 

347 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

James Buchanan, John Y. Mason, and Pierre Soule (re- 
spectively United States ministers to England, France, 
and Spain), declared in plain language that the "Union 
can never enjoy repose nor possess reliable security as 
long as Cuba is not embraced within its boundaries." It 
went on to advise the seizing of the coveted territory in 
case Spain refused to sell. The administration of Presi- 
dent Pierce never directly sanctioned the proposition 
advanced in such extraordinary terms, and Marcy, the 
Secretary of State, repudiated it unqualifiedly. So the 
matter fell again into abeyance until in 1873 the Vir- 
ginius, an American schooner suspected of conveying 
arms and ammunition to the Cuban insurgents, was capt- 
ured by a Spanish gunboat and taken to Havana. As a 
result of the trial, many insurgents, together with six Brit- 
ish subjects and thirty American citizens, were executed. 
For a time international complications seemed certain, 
but finally Spain made proper apologies and surrendered 
the Virginius and the survivors of her crew. 

The Cuban "Ten Years' War," from 1868 to 1878, was 
characterized by great cruelty and destructive losses of 
life and property in which American interests were now 
deeply involved. President Grant seriously considered 
and even threatened intervention, which would have 
meant annexation; but Spain promised definite reforms, 
and the old conditions were continued. 

When the insurrection of 1895 began, American citizens 
owned at least fifty millions of property in the island, 
and American commerce amounted to a hundred millions 
annually. Both on the Spanish and Cuban side outrages 
were of daily occurrence, and the situation quickly be- 
came intolerable. The McKinley administration vent- 
ured upon a mild remonstrance against the inhumanities 
of Captain-General Weyler, and the Spanish authorities 
replied evasively. Finally the United States formally 
offered its good offices for the adjustment of Cuban affairs, 
presumably on a basis of independence. Spain declared 

348 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 

that it was her intention to grant autonomy to the island, 
and the decree was actually published on November 27, 
1897. But it was now too late, and the unhappy condi- 
tions grew worse day by day. 

There had been riots at Havana itself, and it was 
thought advisable to send the United States cruiser Maine 
on a friendly visit to that port. The Maine arrived at 
Havana on January 25, 1898. On the night of February 
15th the Maine was blown up while lying at her harbor 
moorings, with a ghastly loss of life. The American Court 
of Inquiry found that the ship was destroyed from the 
outside; the Spanish inquiry resulted in a verdict that 
the ship was destroyed from causes within herself. At 
the time there was an outburst of passion throughout 
the United States, and Spain was held guilty of an atro- 
cious crime. While the exact cause of the disaster has never 
been finally determined, it is the verdict of calmer and 
more distant consideration that official Spain must be 
acquitted, although the belief remains on the part of 
the American naval authorities that the Maine was blown 
up from outside. At the time, however, this tragedy 
powerfully reinforced the efforts of Cubans and the pres- 
sure of financial interests to secure American support. 
When Senator Redfield Proctor, of Vermont, a man of 
peculiarly dispassionate temperament, made public his 
account of the suffering which he had witnessed among the 
reconcentrados (collections of native Cubans, particularly 
women and children, herded together by Spanish troops), 
the sympathies of Americans were stirred even more 
deeply. Ministers preached intervention from their pul- 
pits. Many newspapers demanded intervention. Yellow 
journals clamored for an ultimatum backed by arms. 
Congress was carried away by the wave of intense feeling, 
although President McKinley thought that a solution 
could be reached without an appeal to arms — a belief in 
which the final verdict of history will probably agree, al- 
though it was inevitable that Spain should resign con- 

349 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

trol of Cuba. But the President was powerless against 
the popular sentiment. 

On April 25th war with Spain was formally declared, 
and for the first time in over three-quarters of a century 
the republic of the West found itself arrayed in arms 
against a European nation. 

The situation had its peculiar features. It had been 
assumed that the principal theatre of conflict would be 
the island of Cuba, and consequently the American cam- 
paign must be one of invasion. But the Spaniards, owing 
to the civil war in the colony, were in virtually the same 
position — fighting at a distance from their base of supplies. 

In material resources the United States ranked immeas- 
urably superior. True, the numerical strength of the reg- 
ular army was small, but behind it stood thousands of 
State militia and millions of available reserves. Moreover, 
the United States was classed among the richest of nations 
and Spain among the poorest. So far as the land opera- 
tions were concerned, the final issue could not be doubtful. 

In naval strength, however, there was less disparity. 
On paper the United States ranked sixth among the 
world powers, while Spain occupied eighth place. But 
the United States, with its thousands of miles of coast on 
both the Atlantic and the Pacific seaboards, was un- 
questionably vulnerable. Coast defences were admitted- 
ly inadequate, and it was conceivable that one swift dash 
by a Spanish squadron might endanger millions of prop- 
erty at Boston, New York, and Baltimore; at San 
Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. 

The situation on the Pacific coast seemed even more 
delicate than that on the Eastern seaboard. There was a 
formidable Spanish squadron at Manila in the Philippine 
Islands, and all depended upon the fighting ability of the 
American Pacific fleet ; if Dewey failed, the Western States 
of America were absolutely at the mercy of the enemy. 

For more than a month Commodore Dewey had lain 
with his fleet in the harbor of Hong-Kong, waiting for 

350 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 

events to shape themselves. In anticipation of the com- 
ing strife, and the consequent declaration of neutrality 
on the part of Great Britain, the American commander 
had purchased two transport steamers, together with 
ten thousand tons of coal. He was thus prepared for 
prompt and decisive action. • 

War had been declared on April 25th, and the American 
squadron immediately left Hong-Kong for Mirs Bay, 
some thirty miles away. On April 26th Commodore 
Dewey received the following despatch: 

" Washington, April 26. 
" Dewey, Asiatic Squadron, — Commence operations at 
once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capt- 
ure or destroy them. McKinley." 

On April 27th the American fleet sailed for Manila, six 
hundred and twenty-eight miles away, and on the morn- 
ing of Saturday, April 30th, Luzon was sighted, and the 
ships were ordered to clear for action. 

Under Commodore George Dewey were the Olympia, 
the Boston, the Petrel, the Concord, the Raleigh, and the 
Baltimore. The only armored vessel in the squadron was 
the Olympia, the protecting belting, four inches thick, 
being aroimd the turret gims. The auxiliary force was 
made up of the revenue-cutter McCulloch and two trans- 
ports, the Vaughan and the Zafiro. Altogether, the 
American fighting force included four cruisers, two gun- 
boats, fifty-seven classified big gims, seventy-four rapid- 
fire and machine guns, and 1808 men. On the other side, 
Rear- Admiral Montojo commanded seven cruisers, five 
gunboats, two torpedo - boats, fifty - two classified big 
guns, eighty-three rapid-fire and machine guns, and 1948 
men. It will thus be seen that the Americans mounted 
a few more heavy guns, but the Spanish had several 
more ships and over a hundred more men. Moreover, 
the Spanish ships were assisted by the fort and land bat- 

*3 351 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

teries at Manila, and they also possessed the great ad- 
vantage of range-marks. Finally, the ship-channels were 
supposed to be amply protected by mines and submarine 
batteries. After satisfying himself that the ships of the 
enemy were not in Subig Bay, Commodore Dewey re- 
solved to enter Manila Bay the same night. It was 
known that the channel had been mined, but that risk 
must be taken. With all lights except the stern ones 
extinguished, the American vessels steamed steadily on- 
ward; finally, Corregidor Island, with its lofty light-house, 
came into view, and the fleet swept into the main ship- 
channel known as the Boca Grande. 

Up to this point no sign had been made by the enemy 
that the approach of the American ships had been dis- 
covered, although the night was moonlit and it was only 
a little after eleven o'clock. Then a fireman on the 
McCulloch threw some soft coal in the furnace and a 
shower of sparks flew from the cutter's funnel. A solitary 
rocket ascended from Corregidor, and there was an an- 
swering light from the mainland. At a quarter-past 
eleven a bugle sounded, and from the shore batteries 
came a blinding glare, followed by the boom of a heavy 
gun — the first shot of the Spanish- American War. 

The Raleigh had the honor of replying for the American 
side, and the Boston followed quickly. A well-aimed six- 
inch shell from the Concord plumped into the Spanish 
fort; there was a crash and a cry, and all was still. The 
forts had been silenced. 

At slow speed the squadron moved onward, for Com- 
modore Dewey did not wish to arrive at Manila before 
dawn. Some of the men managed to get a little sleep, 
but the ever-present danger of torpedoes and the excite- 
ment of the approaching battle were not conducive to 
peaceful slumbers. 

The morning of Sunday, May ist, dawned clear and 
beautiful, although the day promised to be hot. The 
squadron found itself directly across the bay from the 

352 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 



city of Manila; and there, under the guns of Cavite, lay 
the Spanish fleet. 

According to Commodore Dewey's report, the shore 
batteries began firing at a quarter-past five. The Olympia, 
flying the signal " Remember the Maine," led the Ameri- 
can column, followed closely by the Baltimore, Raleigh, 




BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 

Petrel, Concord, and Boston in the order named. The 
ships came on in a line approximately parallel to that 
of the enemy, reserving their fire until within effective 
range. As the fleet advanced two submarine mines were 
exploded, but neither did any damage. At twenty min- 
utes to six Commodore Dewey shouted to Captain Gridley 
in the conning-tower of the flag-ship : " Fire as soon as you 
get ready, Gridley." Instantly the Olympia discharged 
her broadside, the Baltimore followed the lead, and each 
successive ship in turn discharged every gun that could 
be brought to bear. The Spanish returned the fire with 
great energy, but with inconclusive results. Several of 

353 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the American ships were struck, but no casualties followed. 
Lieutenant Brumby, of the flag-ship, had the signal hal- 
liards shot out of his hands; a shot passed clean through 
the Baltimore, and another smashed into the foremast of 
the Boston. Incessantly firing, the battle-line steamed 
past the whole length of the stationary Spanish fleet, 
then swung slowly around and began the countermarch. 
Once Montojo's flag -ship, the Reina Cristina, made a 
desperate attempt to leave the line and engage at close 
quarters, but she was quickly driven back. 

A little after half-past seven the American commander 
ordered the firing to be stopped, and the fleet headed for 
the eastern side of the bay for breakfast and a redistri- 
bution of ammunition for the big guns. The Spaniards, 
seeing the withdrawal of the American vessels, rashly 
concluded that the enemy had been repulsed and raised 
a feeble cheer. In reality they were hopelessly beaten: sev- 
eral of their ships were on fire, the decks of all were covered 
with dead and dying men, and ammunition was running low. 

At a quarter-past eleven the battle was renewed. Sev- 
eral of the Spanish ships were now disabled and on fire, 
and Admiral Montojo had been forced to transfer his flag 
to the Isla de Cuba. 

A few minutes later the Reina Cristina, his former flag- 
ship, was blazing from end to end, and the explosion of 
her magazine completed the destruction of the vessel. 
One after another the Spanish ships succumbed under the 
storm of shot and shell, and either surrendered or were 
cut to pieces. The Don Antonio de Ulloa, riddled like a 
sieve and on fire in a dozen places, refused to acknowledge 
defeat, and went down with colors flying. Finally, 
Admiral Montojo hauled down his flag, and, leaving the 
Isla de Cuba, escaped to the shore. The arsenal building 
at Cavite ran up the white flag, and at half -past one 
Commodore Dewey signalled to his ships that they might 
anchor at discretion. 

Never was victory more decisive. Not a man had 

354 




2 f 




^^ 



THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY 

been killed on the American side, and but four men were 
wounded — this through the explosion of a Spanish shell 
on the Baltimore. None of the American ships received 
any material damage. On the other hand, the following 
Spanish ships were completely destroyed: Reina Cristina 
(flag-ship), Castilla, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Don Juan de 
Austria, Isla de Luzon, Isla de Cuba, Marquiz del Duero, 
General Lezo, Correo, Velasco, and Isla de Mandanao. 
The casualties on the Spanish side amounted to about 
four hundred men. Moreover, the water-batteries of 
Cavite had been demolished, the arsenal had been capt- 
ured, and the city of Manila lay defenceless under the 
guns of the American fleet. 

But Commodore Dewey's difficulties were by no means 
at an end. He had immediately proclaimed a blockade 
of the port. The German Pacific squadron, under Vice- 
Admiral von Diederich, had arrived at Manila shortly after 
the battle, and were, of course, in the position of neutrals, 
having access to the harbor merely on the ground of 
international courtesy. This privilege the Germans 
quickly began to abuse, disregarding Commodore Dewey's 
regulations at will, and committing various acts incon- 
sistent with the neutrality laws. Their attitude was both 
annoying and insolent, and it was evident that it must 
be promptly and effectually checked if the American 
supremacy were to be maintained. 

At last the opportunity came. Commodore Dewey 
learned, on unquestionable authority, that one of the 
German vessels had been landing provisions at Manila, 
thereby violating neutrality. He immediately sent a 
vigorous protest to Admiral von Diederich — a message 
that ended with these significant words: "And, Brumby, 
tell Admiral von Diederich that if he wants a fight he 
can have it right now." 

That was enough. The German admiral was not quite 
ready to involve his country in a war with the United States ; 
he made an apology, and the incident was closed. 

355 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

On June 30th the first army expedition from the United 
States arrived at Manila, and Commodore Dewey's long 
vigil was at an end, the succeeding operations in the 
Philippines being almost exclusively military, and con- 
sisting of the capture of the city of Manila by the Ameri- 
cans and subsequent warfare with Aguinaldo and insur- 
gent Filipinos. 

Such, in large outline, was the battle of Manila Bay. 
Foreign critics have derided American enthusiasm on the 
ground that the American fleet was far superior, that the 
Spanish vessels, many of them mere gunboats, lacked 
armor and adequate guns, and that they were imperfectly 
manned. Yet the same critics ranked the naval forces 
of Spain as quite equal to the American at the outset of 
the war. Furthermore, the action of Dewey, without a 
single battle-ship or torpedo-boat under his command, 
in entering a mined harbor without waiting to counter- 
mine, and in attacking a fleet whose strength was not 
accurately known, under the guns of land batteries, must 
be classed among the distinctive achievements of naval 
history. The battle was decisive in its immediate out- 
come, far-reaching in its ultimate consequences. Dewey's 
victory but presaged the final triumph of American arms. 
The Battle of Manila Bay meant the expulsion of Spain 
from the Pacific and the succession of the United States 
to Spain's heritage of Asiatic power. Politically, there- 
fore, in its establishment of the United States as a power 
in the Orient, Manila Bay is to be placed among the 
decisive battles of history.^ 

[^ The War with Spain, by Henry Cabot Lodge, and The Spanish 
War, by General Russell A. Alger, may be consulted with advan- 
tage. Both are published by Harper & Brothers. Harper's 
Kncyclopcsdia of United States History, VI, affords a picturesque 
account of the battle of Manila Bay, by Ramon Reyes Lala^ 
a Filipino author and lecturer. Professor Latane's account of 
the war, in his America as a World Power (Harper & Brothers), 
offers an excellent example of judicial historical treatment. — 
Editor.] 

356 



XXII 
THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO, 1898 

I 

THE FIRST PERIOD OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR IN THE 
WEST INDIES 

EX -PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT once said that the 
most striking thing about the war with Spain was 
the preparedness of the navy and the unpreparedness of 
the army. For fifteen years the United States had been 
building up a navy, and for months preceding the war 
every effort was made, with the resources at the com- 
mand of the Navy Department, to put it in a state of 
first-class efficiency. As early as January 11, 1898, in- 
structions were sent to the commanders of the several 
squadrons to retain in the service men whose terms of 
enlistment were about to expire. As the Cuban situation 
grew more threatening, the North Atlantic Squadron and 
a torpedo-boat flotilla were rapidly assembled in Florida 
waters; and immediately after the destruction of the 
Maine the ships on the European and South Atlantic 
stations were ordered to Key West. . . . 

Both from a political and a military point of view the 
blockade of Cuba was the first step for the American gov- 
ernment to take, and the surest and quickest means of 
bringing things to an issue. Cuba was the point in dis- 
pute between the United States and Spain, and a blockade 
would result in one of two things — the surrender of the 
island or the despatch of a Spanish naval force to its 

357' 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

relief. The Navy Department had very little apprehen- 
sion of an attack on our coast, as no squadron could hope 
to be in condition after crossing the Atlantic for offensive 
operations without coaling, and the only places where 
Spain could coal were in the West Indies. The public, 
however, took a different view of the situation, and no 
little alarm was felt in the Eastern cities. A few coast- 
defence guns of modern pattern would have relieved the 
department of the necessity of protecting the coast, and 
enabled it to concentrate the whole fighting force around 
Cuba. To meet popular demands, however, a Northern 
Patrol Squadron was organized April 20th, under com- 
mand of Commodore Howell, to cover the New England 
coast; and a more formidable Flying Squadron, under 
Commodore Schley, was assembled at Hampton Roads, 
and kept there until the appearance of the Spanish fleet 
in the West Indies. The main squadron was stationed 
at Key West under Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson, 
who had just been promoted to that grade, and given 
command of the entire naval force in North Atlantic 
waters. His appointment over the heads of Schley and 
other officers of superior rank and longer service created 
a great deal of criticism, although he was everywhere 
conceded to be one of the most efficient and progressive 
officers of the new navy.^ 

One hundred and twenty-eight ships [steam merchant- 
men, revenue-cutters, light-house tenders, yachts, and 
ocean liners] were added to the navy, and the govern- 
ment yards were kept busy transforming them. To man 
these ships the number of enlisted men was raised from 
12,500 to 24,123, and a number of new officers appointed.^ 
The heavy fighting force consisted of four first-class 
battle-ships, the Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Oregon; 
one second-class battle-ship, the Texas; and two armored 
cruisers, the Brooklyn and the New York. As against 

' Long, New American Navy, I, 209. 

"^Messages and Docs., Abridgment, 1898-1899, II, 921. 

358 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

these seven armored ships Spain had five armored cruisers 
of modern construction and of greater reputed speed than 
any of ours except the Brooklyn and the New York, and 
one battle-ship of the Indiana type. Spain had further a 
type of vessel unknown to our navy and greatly feared by 
us — namely, torpedo-boat destroyers, such as the Furor, 
Pluton, and Terror. It was popularly supposed that the 
Spanish navy was somewhat superior to the American. 

As soon as the Spanish minister withdrew from Wash- 
ington, a despatch was sent to Sampson at Key West 
directing him to blockade the coast of Cuba immediately 
from Cardenas to Bahia Honda, and to blockade Cien- 
fuegos if it was considered advisable. On April 29th, 
Admiral Cervera's division of the Spanish fleet left the 
Cape de Verde Islands for an unknown destination, and 
disappeared for two weeks from the knowledge of the 
American authorities. This fleet was composed of four 
armored cruisers, the Infanta Maria Teresa, Cristobal 
Colon, Oquendo, and Vizcaya, and three torpedo-boat 
destroyers. Its appearance in American waters was 
eagerly looked for, and interest in the war became in- 
tense. . . . 

[In the next two weeks Sampson's patrol of the Wind- 
ward Islands and adjacent waters, and his visit to San 
Juan, Porto Rico, produced no discoveries, and he started 
to return to the blockade of Havana. At midnight. 
May i2th-i3th, thirty-six hours after the event, the Navy 
Department learned that Cervera had appeared off Mar- 
tinique. Sampson, with his fleet, and Schley, with the 
Flying Squadron, were ordered to Key West, which they 
reached on May i8th.] 

The department had heard that Cervera had munitions 
of war essential to the defence of Havana, and that his 
orders were to reach Havana, Cienfuegos, or a port con- 
nected with Havana by rail. As Cienfuegos seemed the 
only place he would be likely to choose, Schley was ordered 
there with the Brooklyn, Massachusetts, and Texas, May 

359 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

19th. He was joined later by the Iowa, under Captain 
Evans, and by several cruisers. The Spanish squadron 
slipped into Santiago, unobserved by the cruisers on 
scouting duty. May 19th, two days before Schley arrived 
at Cienfuegos, so that had Cervera known the conditions 
he could easily have made the latter port. On the same 
day the department received from, spies in Havana prob- 
able information, conveyed by the cable which had been 
allowed to remain in operation, that Cervera had entered 
Santiago. As we now know, he had entered early that 
morning. Several auxiliary cruisers were immediately 
ordered to assemble before Santiago in order to watch 
Cervera and follow him in case he should leave. 

At the same time the department "strongly advised" 
Sampson to send Schley to Santiago at once with his 
whole command. Sampson replied that he had decided 
to hold Schley at Cienfuegos until it was certain that 
the Spanish fleet was in Santiago. Later he sent a de- 
spatch to Schley, received May 23d, ordering him to 
proceed to Santiago if satisfied that the enemy were not 
at Cienfuegos.^ The next day ^ Schley started, encounter- 
ing on the rtm much rain and rough weather, which 
seriously delayed the squadron. At 5.30 p.m.. May 26th, 
he reached a point twenty-two miles south of Santiago, 
where he was joined by several of the auxiliary cruisers 
on scouting duty. Captain Sigsbee, of the St. Paul, in- 
formed him that the scouts knew nothing positively 
about the Spanish fleet. The collier Merrimac had been 
disabled, which increased the difficulty of coaling. At 
7.45 P.M., a little over two hours after his arrival, Schley 
without explanation signalled to the squadron : " Destina- 
tion, Key West, via south side of Cuba and Yucatan 
Channel, as soon as collier is ready; speed, nine knots." 

^ Sec. of the Navy, Annual Report, 1898, App., pp. 465, 466. 

2 It was on this date, May 24th, that the Oregon, Captain Clark, 
appeared off Jupiter Inlet, Florida, ready for action, after a voy- 
age of fourteen thousand miles from San Francisco. — [Editor.] 

360 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

Thus began the much-discussed retrograde movement 
which occupied two days. Admiral Schley states in his 
book that. Sigsbee's report and other evidence led him 
to conclude that the Spanish squadron was not in San- 
tiago; hence the retrograde movement to protect the 
passage west of Cuba.^ But he has never yet given an}^ 
satisfactory explanation why he did not definitely ascer- 
tain the facts before turning back. Fortunately the 
squadron did not proceed very far; the lines towing the 
collier parted and other delays occurred. The next morn- 
ing Schley received a despatch from the department 
stating that all the information at hand indicated that 
Cervera was in Santiago, but he continued on his west- 
ward course slowly and at times drifting while some of 
the ships coaled. The next day, May 28th, Schley re- 
turned to Santiago, arriving before that port about dusk, 
and established a blockade.^ 

Admiral Sampson arrived off Santiago June ist, and 
assumed direct command of the squadron. The block- 
ade, which lasted for over a month, was eagerly watched 
by the whole American people. The most thrilling in- 
cident was the daring but unsuccessful attempt made by 
Lieutenant Richmond Pearson Hobson to sink the collier 
Merrimac across the entrance to Santiago harbor, under- 
taken by direction of Admiral Sampson. Electric tor- 
pedoes were attached to the hull of the ship, sea- valves 
were cut, and anchor chains arranged on deck so that 
she could be brought to a sudden stop. Early on the 
morning of June 3d, Hobson, assisted by a crew of seven 
seamen, took the collier into the entrance of the harbor 
under heavy fire and sunk her. The unfortunate shoot- 
ing away of her steering-gear and the failure of some of 
the torpedoes to explode kept the ship from sinking at 
the place selected, so that the plan miscarried. Hobson 

^ Schley, Forty-five Years Under the Flag, 276. 
2 Sec. of the Navy, Annual Report, 1898, App., p. 402; Long, 
New Am. Navy, I, 258-287. 

361 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

and his men escaped death as by a miracle, but fell into 
the hands of the Spaniards/ 



'II 

THE LAND CAMPAIGN 

As soon as Cervera was blockaded in Santiago and the 
government was satisfied that all his ships were with 
him, it was decided to send an army to co-operate with 
the navy. Hitherto the war had been a naval war ex- 
clusively, and the two hundred thousand volunteers 
who had responded to the calls of the President in May 
had been kept in camp in different parts of the country. 
Most of the regular infantry and cavalry, together with 
several volunteer regiments, had been assembled at 
Tampa and organized as the Fifth Army Corps, in readi- 
ness to land in Cuba as soon as the navy had cleared the 
way. Conspicuous among these troops was the First 
Volunteer Cavalry, popularly known as Roosevelt's 
Rough Riders, a regiment which through the energetic 
efforts of Dr. Leonard Wood, an army surgeon, who 
became its colonel, and Theodore Roosevelt, who re- 
signed the position of assistant secretary of the navy 
to become its lieutenant-colonel, had been enlisted, officer- 
ed, and equipped in fifty days. It was recruited largely 
from Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, and had in 
its ranks cowboys, hunters, ranchmen, and more than 
one hundred and sixty full-blooded Indians, together 
with a few graduates of Harvard, Yale, and other East- 
ern colleges. 

Tampa was ill-suited for an instruction camp, and the 
preparations made by the department for the accommoda- 
tion and provisioning of such large bodies of men were 

^ Sec. of the Navy, Annual Report, 1898, App., p. 437. 
362 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

wholly inadequate. One of the main difficulties was the 
inability of the Commissary and Quartermaster depart- 
ments, hampered by red tape, senseless regulations, and 
political appointees, to distribute the train-loads of sup- 
plies which blocked the tracks leading to Tampa; so 
great was the congestion that the soldiers could not even 
get their mail. This condition continued for weeks. The 
great majority of the troops were finally sent to Santiago 
to fight under a tropical sim in heavy woollen clothes; 
lighter clothing was not supplied to them until they were 
ready to return to Montauk Point, where they needed 
the woollen. The sanitation of the camp was poor and 
the water-supply bad; dysentery, malaria, and typhoid 
soon made their appearance. Similar conditions pre- 
vailed at the other camps. The administrative ineffi- 
ciency of the War Department was everywhere revealed 
in striking contrast with the fine record of the Navy De- 
partment. Secretary Alger had been too much occupied 
with questions of patronage to look after the real needs 
of the service. Although war had been regarded for 
months as inevitable, when it finally came the depart- 
ment was found to be utterly unprepared to equip troops 
for service in Cuba. As the result of this neglect, for 
which it should be said Congress was partly responsible, 
it was necessary to improvise an army — a rather serious 
undertaking ! 

It had been the original intention to land the Fifth 
Army Corps at Mariel, near Havana, and begin opera- 
tions against the capital city under the direct supervision 
of General Miles; but the bottling-up of Cervera at 
Santiago caused a change of plan, and General Miles, 
who still expected the heavy fighting to take place at 
Havana, selected Major-General William R. Shafter for 
the movement against Santiago. By June ist the battle- 
ship Indiana, under Captain Henry C. Taylor, with a 
dozen smaller vessels, was ready to convoy the expedi- 
tion. The army was very slow in embarking, and it 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

was not until June 8th that the force was ready to depart. 
Further delay was caused by the unfounded rumor that 
a Spanish crmser and two torpedo-boat destroyers had 
been sighted off the north coast of Cuba.^ In order to 
ascertain whether all the Spanish ships were at Santiago, 
Lieutenant Victor Blue, of the navy, landed, and by per- 
sonal observation from the hills back of the city located 
Cervera's entire division in the harbor. On June 14th 
the transports, about thirty in number, sailed from 
Tampa with their convoy. They were crowded and ill- 
provided with supplies, the whole movement showing 
lack of experience in handling large bodies of men. The 
expedition consisted of 815 officers and 16,072 enlisted 
men, regulars except the Seventy-first New York, Second 
Massachusetts, and the First Volunteer Cavalry.^ 

The expedition under Shafter began disembarking at 
Daiquiri on the morning of June 2 2d, and by night six 
thousand men had with great difficulty been put ashore. 
No lighters or launches had been provided, and the only 
wharf, a small wooden one, had been stripped of its 
flooring: the War Department expected the navy to look 
after these matters. In addition, the troops had been 
crowded into the transports without any reference to 
order, officers separated from their commands, artillery- 
pieces on one transport, horses on another, harness on a 
third, and no means of finding out where any of them 
were. By the aid of a few launches borrowed from the 
battle-ships, the men were put ashore, or near enough 
to wade through the surf, but the animals had to be 
thrown into the sea, where many of them perished, some 
in their bewilderment swimming out to sea instead of 
to shore. 

General Lawton advanced and seized Siboney next 
day, and Kent's division landed here, eight miles nearer 
Santiago. General Wheeler pushed on with part of 

* Sec. of the Navy, Annual Report, 1898, App., p. 667. 

2 Major- General commanding the army, Report, 1898, p. 149. 

364 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

Young's brigade, and on the morning of the 24th defeated 
the Spanish force at Las Guasimas, with a loss of one of- 
ficer and fifteen men killed, six officers and forty-six men 
wounded/ During the next week the army, including 
Garcia' s Cuban command, was concentrated at Sevilla. 
These were trying days. The troops suffered from the 
heavy rains, poor rations, and bad camp accommodations. 
No adequate provision had been made for landing sup- 
plies or for transporting them to the camps, so that with 
an abundance, such as they were, aboard the transports, 
the soldiers were in actual want. 

On June 30th it was decided to advance. San Juan 
Hill, a strategic point on the direct road to Santiago, 
could not be taken or held while the Spaniards occupied 
El Caney, on the right of the American advance. The 
country was a jungle, and the roads from the coast little 
more than bridle-paths. Lawton moved out to a posi- 
tion south of El Caney that afternoon, so as to begin the 
attack early next morning. Wheeler's division of dis- 
mounted cavalry and Kent's division of infantry ad- 
vanced toward El Poso, accompanied by Grimes' battery, 
which was to take position early in the morning and open 
the way for the advance toward San Juan. The attack 
at this point was to be delayed until Lawton' s infantry 
fire was heard at El Caney. After forcing the enemy 
from this position, Lawton was to move toward Santiago 
and take position on Wheeler's right. Little was known 
of the ground over which the troops were to move or 
the position and strength of the forces they were to meet, 
consequently they went into battle without knowing 
what they were about and fought w^ithout any general- 
ship being displayed. General Shafter was too ill to 
leave his headquarters in the rear. 

At El Caney, which was surrounded by trenches 
and block-houses, the Spaniards developed unexpected 

^ Major-General commanding the army, Report, 1898, p. 162. 

365 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

strength, and held Lawton in check until late in the 
afternoon, when he finally carried the position. In this 
fight about thirty-five hundred Americans were engaged, 
and not more than six hundred or one thousand Spaniards. 
The American loss was four officers and seventy-seven 
men killed, and twenty-five officers and three hundred and 
thirty-five men wounded. About one hundred and fifty 
Spaniards were captured, and between three hundred and 
four hundred killed and wounded.* 

Meanwhile there had been a desperate fight at San 
Juan Hill. As soon as Lawton's musket-fire was heard 
at El Caney, Grimes' battery opened fire from El Poso 
on the San Juan block-house. This fire was immediately 
returned by the enemy's artillery, who had the range, 
and a number of men were killed. The Spaniards used 
smokeless powder, which made it difficult to locate 
them, while som.e of the Americans had black powder, 
which quickly indicated their position. The road along 
which the troops had to advance was so narrow and 
rough that at times they had to proceed in column of 
twos. The progress made was very slow, and the long- 
range guns of the enemy killed numbers of men before 
they could get into position to return the fire. By 
the middle of the day the advance had crossed the 
river, the cavalry division under Sumner deploying 
to the right in front of Kettle Hill, and Kent's divi- 
sion of infantry deploying to the left directly in front 
of San Juan Hill. During this movem.ent the troops 
were exposed to a galling artillery and rifle fire and suf- 
fered greatly, especially the third brigade of Kent's 
division, which lost three commanders in fifteen min- 
utes. General Wikoff being killed and Colonels Worth 
and Liscum disabled. The suffering of the wounded, 

^ Major-General commanding the army, Report, 1898, pp. 152, 
169, 171, 319, 366, 381. [General Vara el Rey, one of the bravest 
of the Spanish officers, was the leader in this desperate resistance, 
and was killed while rallying his men in the village. — Editor.] 

366 




CARIBBEAN SEA 



PLAN OF MILITARY OPERATIONS AROUND SANTIAGO 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

many of whom lay in the brush for hours without succor, 
was the most terrible feature of the situation. 

Finally the long-expected order to advance was given. 
The First Regular Cavalry, the Rough Riders, and the 
Negro troopers of the Ninth and a part of the Tenth 
advanced up Kettle Hill and drove the Spaniards from 
the ranch-house, while the infantry division with the 
Sixth and Sixteenth regiments under Hawkins in the 
lead charged up San Juan Hill in the face of a destruc- 
tive fire and captured the block-house. Then the 
cavalry under Sumner and Roosevelt advanced from 
Kettle Hill and occupied the trenches on San Juan 
Hill north of the block-house. The Spaniards fled to 
their second line of trenches, six or eight hundred yards 
in the rear. 

After occupying San Juan Hill, the cavalry were still ex- 
posed to a constant fire, and many were discouraged and 
wanted to retire, but General Wheeler, who, though ill, 
had come to the front early in the afternoon, put a stop 
to this and set the men to work fortifying themselves. 
The next day Lawton came up and advanced to a strong 
position on Wheeler's right. The fighting was resumed 
on the two following days, but about noon, July 3d, the 
Spaniards ceased firing. The losses in the three days' 
fight were eighteen officers and one hundred and twenty- 
seven men killed, sixty-five officers and eight hundred 
and forty-nine men wounded, and seventy-two men 
missing.^ The condition of the troops after the battle 
was very bad ; many of them were down with fever, and 
all were suffering from lack of suitable equipment and 
supplies. General Shafter cabled to the secretary of 
war, July 3d, that it would be impossible td take Santiago 
by storm with the forces he then had, and that he was 
"seriously considering withdrawing about five miles and 
taking up a new position on the high ground between 

* Major-General commanding the army, Report, pp. 167, 173. 

368 



THE BATTLE vS OF SANTIAGO 

the San Juan River and Siboney." ^ The destruction of 
Cervera's fleet the same day materially changed the 
situation. 

Ill 

THE DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA's FLEET 

The advance made by the American troops around 
Santiago on July ist and 2d forced the Spanish authorities 
to come to a decision in regard to Cervera's fleet. Cap- 
tain-General Blanco insisted that the fleet should not be 
captured or destroyed without a fight. Cervera refused 
to assume the responsibility of leaving the harbor, and 
when ordered to do so went out with consummate bravery, 
knowing that he was leading a forlorn-hope. Sampson 
seems to have been under the impression all along that 
the Spanish squadron would attempt to escape at night, 
but the American ships kept in so close to the shore, 
with dazzling search-lights directed against the entrance 
of the harbor, as to render it almost impossible to steer 
a ship out. On the morning of July 3d, at 8.55, Sampson 
started east to meet General Shafter in conference at 
Siboney, signalling to the fleet as he left: "Disregard 
movements commander-in-chief." The Massachusetts 
had also left her place in the blockade to go to Guan- 
tanamo for coal. The remaining ships formed a semi- 
circle around the entrance of the harbor, the Brooklyn 
to the west, holding the left of the line, then the Texas, 
next the Iowa in the centre and at the south of the curve, 
then, as the line curved in to the coast on the right, the 
Oregon and the Indiana. The Brooklyn and the Indiana, 
holding the left and the right of the line, were about 
two miles and one and a half miles respectively from the 
shore, and near them, closer in, lay the converted gun- 
boats Vixen and Gloucester. 

^Messages and Docs., Abridgment, 1898-1899, I, 270. 
369 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

At 9.35 A.M., while most of the men were at Sunday 
inspection, the enemy's ships were discovered slowly 
steaming down the narrow channel of the harbor. In the 
lead was the Maria Teresa, followed by the Vizcaya, the 
Colon, the Oquendo, and the two torpedo-boat destroyers. 
The Iowa was the first to signal that the enemy were 
escaping, though the fact was noted on several ships at 
almost the same moment, and no orders were necessary. 
The American ships at once closed in and directed their 
fire against the Teresa. For a moment there was doubt 
as to whether the Spanish ships would separate and try 
to scatter the fire of our fleet or whether they would stick 
together. This was quickly settled when Cervera turned 
west, followed by the remainder of his command. At 
this point Commodore Schley's flag-ship, the Brooklyn, 
which was farthest west, turned to the eastward, away 
from the hostile fleet, making a loop, at the end of which 
she again steamed westward farther out to sea but still 
ahead of any of the American vessels. The sudden and 
unexpected turn of the Brooklyn caused the Texas, which 
was behind her, to reverse her engines in order to avoid 
a collision and to come to a standstill, thus losing posi- 
tion, the Oregon and the Iowa both passing her. The 
two destroyers, which came out last, were attacked by 
the Indiana and the Gloucester, the commander of the 
latter, Wainwright, dashing toward them in utter dis- 
regard of the fragile character of his vessel. The Furor 
was sunk and the Pluton was run ashore. The Teresa, 
struck by several shells which exploded and set her on 
fire, turned to the shore at 10.15 ^^^ "^^s beached about 
six miles west of the Morro. The Oquendo was riddled by 
shell and likewise soon on fire. She was beached about 
half a mile west of the Teresa at 10.20. The Vizcaya and 
Colon were now left to bear the fire of the pursuing Ameri- 
can ships, which were practically uninjured. In this 
running fight the Indiana dropped behind, owing to the 
defective condition of her machinery, but kept up her 

370 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

fire. At 11.05 the Vizcaya turned to run ashore about fif- 
teen miles west of the Morro. The Brooklyn and the Oregon y 
followed at some distance by the Texas, continued the 
chase of the Colon. The Indiana and the Iowa, at the 
order of Sampson, who had come up, went back to guard 
the transports. At 1.15 p.m. the Colon turned to shore 
thirty miles west of the Vizcaya and surrendered.^ 

The fight was over, one of the most remarkable naval 
battles on record. On the American side, though the 
ships were struck many times, only one man w^as killed 
and one wounded. These casualties both occurred on 
Commodore Schley's flag-ship, the Brooklyn. The Span- 
iards lost about six hundred in killed and wounded. The 
American sailors took an active part in the rescue of 
the otilcers and crews of the burning Spanish ships. 

Only one hundred and twenty-three out of about eight 
thousand American projectiles hit the Spanish ships. 

IV 

THE SPANISH SURRENDER 

On July 3d, General Shafter demanded the surrender 
of the Spanish forces in Santiago. This being refused, he 
notified General Toral that the bombardment of Santiago 
would begin at noon of the 5th, thus giving tw^o days for 
the women and children to leave the city. Nearly twenty 
thousand people came out and filled the villages and 
roads around. They were in an utterly destitute condi- 
tion, and had to be taken care of largely by the American 
army — a great drain on their supplies. On the loth and 
nth the city was bombarded by the squadron. At this 
point General Miles arrived off Santiago with additional 
troops intended for Porto Rico. He and Shafter met 
General Toral under a flag of truce and arranged terms 
for the surrender, which took place on the 1 7th. Shafter's 

^ Sec. of the Navy, Annual Report, 1898, App., pp. 505-602; 
Long, New Am. Navy, II, 28-42. 

372 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

command was by this time in a serious state of health and 
anxious to return home. Malarial fevers had so weakened 
the men that an epidemic of yellow-fever, which had ap- 
peared sporadically throughout the command, was greatly 
feared. The situation was desperate, and the War De- 
partment apparently deaf to all representations of the 
case. Under these circumstances the division and bri- 
gade commanders and the surgeons met at General Shaft- 
er's headquarters early in August and signed a round- 
robin addressed to the secretary of war urging the im- 
mediate removal of the corps to the United States. This 
action was much criticised at the time, but it had the 
desired effect, and on August 4th orders were given to 
remove the command to Montauk Point, Long Island. 
The movement was begun at once and completed before 
the end of the month. 

The surrender of Santiago left General Miles free to 
carry out plans already matured for the invasion of 
Porto Rico. He left Guantanamo, July 21st, with 3415 
men, mostly volunteers, convoyed by a fleet under the 
command of Captain Higginson, and landed at Guanica 
on the 2 5th. Early next morning General Garretson pushed 
forward with part of his brigade and drove the Spanish 
forces from Yauco, thus getting possession of the railroad 
to Ponce. General Miles was reinforced in a few days by 
the commands of Generals Wilson, Brooke, and Schwan, 
raising his entire force to 16,973 officers and men. In 
about two weeks they had gained control of all the south- 
ern and western portions of the island, but hostilities were 
suspended by the peace protocol before the conquest of 
Porto Rico was completed. The American losses in this 
campaign were three killed and forty wounded.^ 

The last engagement of the war was the assault on 
Manila, which was captured August 13, 1898, by the 
forces under General Merritt, assisted by Admiral Dewey's 

* Major-General commanding the army, Report, 1898, pp. 138- 
147, 226-243, 246-266. 

373 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

squadron. This occurred the day after the signing of 
the peace protocol, the news of which did not reach the 
Phihppines until several days later. 



CONTROVERSIES CAUSED BY THE WAR 

Two controversies growing out of the war with Spain 
assumed such importance that they cannot be passed 
by. The first related to the conduct of the War Depart- 
ment, which was charged with inefficiency resulting from 
political appointments and corruption in the purchase of 
supplies. The most serious charge was that made by 
Major-General Miles, commanding the army, who de- 
clared that much of the refrigerated beef furnished the 
troops was "embalmed beef," preserved with secret 
chemicals of an injurious character. In September, 1898, 
President McKinley appointed a commission to investi- 
gate these charges, and the hearings held were sensational 
in the extreme. Commissary-General Eagan read a state- 
ment before the commission which was so violent in its 
abuse of the commanding general that he was later court- 
martialled and sentenced to dismissal for conduct un- 
becoming an officer and a gentleman, though this sen- 
tence was commuted by the President to suspension from 
rank and duty, but without loss of pay. The report of 
the commission ^ failed to substantiate General Miles' 
charges, but it was not satisfactory or convincing. In 
spite of its efforts to whitewash things, the commission 
had to report that the secretary of war had failed to 
"grasp the situation." Many leading newspapers de- 
manded Alger's resignation, but President McKinley 
feared to discredit the administration by dismissing him. 

^Senate Docs., 56 Cong., I Sess., No. 221, 8 vols. 
374 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

Nevertheless, a coolness sprang up between them; and 
several months later, when Alger became a candidate 
for the Michigan senatorship, with the open support of 
elements distinctly hostile to the administration, the 
President asked for his resignation, which was tendered 
July 19, 1899.^ 

The other controversy, which waged in the papers for 
months, was as to whether Sampson or Schley was in 
command at the battle of Santiago. As a reward for 
their work on that day, the President advanced Sampson 
eight numbers, Schley six. Captain Clark of the Oregon 
six, and the other captains five. These promotions were 
all confirmed by the Senate save those of Sampson and 
Schley, a number of senators holding that Schley should 
have received at least equal recognition with Sampson. 
The controversy was waged inside and outside of Con- 
gress for three years. The officials of the Navy Depart- 
ment were for the most part stanch supporters of Samp- 
son, while a large part of the public, under the impression 
that the department was tr)7'ing to discredit Schley, 
eagerly championed his cause. Finally, at the request 
of Admiral Schley, who was charged in certain publica- 
tions with inefficiency and even cowardice, a court of 
inquiry was appointed July 26, 1901, with Admiral Dewey 
as president, for the purpose of inquiring into the con- 
duct of Schley during the war with Spain. The opinion 
of the court was that his service prior to June ist was 
"characterized by vacillation, dilatoriness, and lack of 
enterprise." Admiral Dewey differed from the opinions 
of his colleagues on certain points, and delivered a separate 
opinion, in the course of which he took up the question 
as to who was in command at Santiago, a point which 
had not been considered by the court. His conclusion 
was that Schley "was in absolute command and is en- 
titled to the credit due to such commanding officer for 

^Nation, LXIX, 61. 
375 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 

the glorious victory which resulted in the total destruc- 
tion of the Spanish ships." This made matters worse 
than ever. Secretary Long approved the findings of the 
majority of the court, and disapproved Dewey's separate 
opinion. Schley appealed from the findings of the court 
to the President. February i8, 1902, President Roose- 
velt's memorandum, in which he reviewed the whole con- 
troversy, was made public. He declared that the court 
had done substantial justice to Schley. As regards the 
question of command at Santiago, he said that tech- 
nically Sampson commanded the fleet, and Schley the 
western division, but that after the battle began not 
a ship took orders from either Sampson or Schley, ex- 
cept their own two vessels. " It was a captains' 
fight." ' 

The Spanish war revealed many serious defects in the 
American military system, some of which have been 
remedied by the reorganization of the army and the 
creation of a general staff. ^ It demonstrated the neces- 
sity of military evolutions on a large scale in time of 
peace, so as to give the general officers experience in 
handling and the Quartermaster and Commissary depart- 
ments experience in equipping and supplying large bodies 
of troops; it showed the folly and danger of appointing 
men from civil life through political influence to positions 
of responsibility in any branch of the military or naval 
service; it showed the value of field-artillery, of smoke- 
less powder, and of high-power rifles of the latest model; 
it also showed the necessity of having on hand a large 
supply of the best war material ready for use. While 
every American is proud of the magnificent record of the 
navy, it must not be imagined that the war with Spain 
was a conclusive test of its invincibility, for, however 

^ Proceedings of the Schley Court of Inquiry, House Docs., 57 
Cong., I Sess., No. 485. 

2 Act of February 14, 1903, U. S. Statutes at Large, XXXII, pt. i, 
p. 830. 

37^ 



THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO 

formidable the Spanish cruisers appeared at the time, 
later information revealed the fact that through the 
neglect of the Spanish government they were very far 
from being in a state of first-class efficiency. 



INDEX 



Abercrombie, James, killed at 

Bunker Hill, 115. 
Adams, John, elected President, 

154. 

Adams, John Quincy, interested 
in western exploration, 9; 
elected President, 180; Texas, 
184. 

Adams, Samuel, circular letter, 
90; "committees of corre- 
spondence," 92 ; on inde- 
pendence, 96; outlawed, 102. 

Aguinaldo, Emilio, insurrection, 
356. 

Alabama, admitted into the 
Union, 180; secession, 231. 

Alabama and the Kearsarge, 
327; Claims, 343- 

Alaska, purchase, 11, 343. 

Alger, R. A., Spanish War, 363; 
resignation, 374, 375. 

Alien acts, passage, 154. 

Alliance fired upon, 345. 

Almonte, J. N., annexation of 
Texas, 184, 185; demands his 
passports, 185. 

Alston, Charles, at surrender of 
Sumter, 271. 

Amendment, Thirteenth, 328; 
Fourteenth, 343; Fifteenth, 

343- 

America, territorial history, i- 
12. 

American, flag adopted, 143 ; vic- 
tory at Cowpens, 144 ; Em- 
bargo Act, 155; Anti-Slavery 
Society, 181. 

Americans, at Bunker Hill, 102- 
108; at battle of Long Island, 



119; at White Plains, 119; at 
Bennington, 119; at Sara- 
toga, 120; at Valley Forge, 
143; storm Stony Point, 144; 
at Yorktown, 145 ; invade 
Canada, 155; at Chippewa, 
156; occupy California, 182; 
New Mexico, 182. 
Amherst, Jeffrey, commander- 
in-chief in America, 66; ad- 
vance down Lake Champlain, 

73- 

Ampudia, Pedro de, at Buena 
Vista, 200, 203, 205. 

Anderson, Robert, commands 
Charleston forts, 243; fitness, 
243; urges reinforcements and 
occupation of Pinckney and 
Sumter, 243, 244; state en- 
rollment of fort laborers, 
245; instructions, 246-247; 
removal to Sumter, 2 5 1-2 53 ; 
refuses to return, 254, 255; 
Lamon's statements, 256; 
Beauregard, 256; defensive 
instructions repeated, 253; 
scarcity of provisions, 258; 
fears he has been aban- 
doned, 260; informed of Fox 
expedition, 260; isolated, 260; 
refuses to evacuate, 264; offer 
on evacuation refused, 265; 
bombardment , 267; surren- 
ders, 271. 

Andre, John, capture and ex- 
ecution, 144. 

Andros, Sir Edward, Governor 
of New England, 59. 

Anne, Fort, 126, 127. 



379 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



Anti- Slavery Society, formation, 
i8i. 

Ariel at Lake Erie, 163, 170. 

Arizona, admission into the 
Union, 345. 

Arkansas, admission into the 
Union, 181; secession, 273. 

Arnold, Benedict, to the relief 
of Fort Schuyler, 129, 132; 
at Behmus' Heights, 132 ; 
deprived of command, 135 ; 
wounded, 137; treason, 144. 

Arthur, C. A., succeeds to the 
Presidency, 344. 

Appleton, Major, in King 
Philip's War, 52. 

Appomattox campaign, 329- 
342; map, 331; meeting be- 
tween Grant and Lee, 336; 
Lee's surrender, 337; Lin- 
coln, 342. 

Appomattox Court- House, Lee's 
surrender, 328. 

Ashburton treaty, on north- 
eastern boundary, 181. 

Babcock, Colonel, at Ap- 
pomattox, 336, 337. 

Babcock, Prof. Kendric Charles 
quoted, 172, 180. 

Badeau, Adam, at Appomattox, 

33.7- 

Baltimore in Spanish War, 351. 

Balboa, Vasco Nunez de, dis- 
covers Pacific Ocean, 12. 

Banks, N. P., expedition against 
Port Hudson, 305. 

Barclay, Commodore, at Lake 
Erie, 160. 

Baum, Colonel, at Bennington, 
130. 

Beauregard, P. G. T,, pledge 
from Anderson, 256; reports 
readiness to at'tack Fort Sum- 
ter, 258; order to attack, 263; 
demands evacuation, 264; An- 
derson's offer, 265; bombard- 
ment, 267; terms of surrender, 
271. 

Behmus' Heights, battle, 133; 
map, 136. 

Behring's Strait, discovery, 61. 



Bennington, battle, 130. 

Bissell, Colonel, at Buena Vista, 
201. 

Blue, Victor, at Santiago, 364. 

Black Hawk War, 181. 

Blanco, Ramon, and Cervera's 
fleet, 369. 

Bocanegra, J. M. de, on United 
States and Texas, 183, 184. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, recapt- 
ures Toulon, 154; Emperor of 
France, 155. 

Boone, Daniel, settlement of 
Kentucky, 119. 

Boston in Spanish War, 351. 

Boston, founded, 30; Liberty 
riots, 91; arrival of troops, 
92; massacre, 92; tea-party, 
93; port closed, 93; aid for, 
94; military possession, 95; 
siege, 99; British forces in, 
102. 

Bougainville, at Quebec, 71, 
72. 

Bowers, T. S., at Appomattox, 

337- 

Boxer taken by the Enterprise, 
156. 

Bradford, Major, in King Philip's 
War, 52. 

Breed's Hill, height, 104; forti- 
fied, 105; redoubton, 106; anx- 
ious moments, 108; battle, 
112-116. 

Brener, Colonel, at Bunker Hill. 

113- 

Breyman, Colonel, at Benning- 
ton, 130, 131. 

Bridge, Colonel, at Bunker Hill, 
104, 108. 

British, at Bunker Hill, 102- 
118; evacuate Boston, 119; 
repulsed at Charleston, 119; 
at the battle of Long Island, 
119; occupy New York, 119; 
enter Philadelphia, 119; at 
Behmus' Heights, 133-137; 
burn Esopus, 142 ; evacuate 
New York, 143; occupy Phila- 
delphia, 143; enter Savannah, 
144; defeated at King's Moun- 
tain, 144; evacuate Savannah 



380 



INDEX 



and Charleston, 153; evacuate 
New York, 153; "Order in 
Council," 155; at French- 
town, 156; at Sackett's Har- 
bor, 156; fleet at Lake Erie, 
163; surrender, 167; losses, 
171. 

Bragg, Braxton, at Buena Vista, 
202, 206. 

Brooke, J. R,, in Porto Rico, 
373. 

Brooke, John M., and the Vir- 
ginia, 276. 

Brooklyn in Spanish War, 358, 
369-372. 

Brooks, John, at Bunker Hill, 
104; at Behmus' Heights, 137. 

Brown, Colonel, at Ticonderoga, 

Brown, John, execution, 231. 

Buchanan, James, elected Presi- 
dent, 230; reinforcement of 
Charleston forts, 237, 238; in- 
structions to Anderson, 246; 
Picken's demand for Sumter, 
248; policy of delay, 250. 

Buckminster, Colonel, at Bun- 
ker Hill, 113. 

Buell, D. C, instructions to 
Anderson, 246, 247. 

Buena Vista, battle, 198-207. 

Buford, John, cavalry in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311, 313. 

Bunker Hill, battle, 78, 102-118; 
topography, 103, 104; in- 
trenchments, 106, 107; de- 
serters, 107; losses, 117; forces 
engaged, 118; no victory, 118; 
monument, 118, 180. 

Burgoyne, John, arrival at Bos- 
ton, 102; in Canada, 121, 123; 
takes Ticonderoga, 124; proc- 
lamation, 124, 127; route 
(map), 125; at Skenesborough 
127; Bennington, 130; Indian 
allies, 131, 132; St. Leder's 
failure, 132; crosses the Hud- 
son, 133; difficulties, 135; 
news from Clinton, 136; per- 
plexity at Fort Edward, 138; 
surrender, 139, 142; Clinton's 
advance, 142; effects, 143. 



Burnside, Ambrose E., Roanoke 
Island, 288; commands Army 
of the Potomac, 294. 

Burr, Aaron, arrest, 155. 

Butler, Benjamin F., New Or- 
leans expedition, 291. 

Cabot, John, reaches North 
America, 12. 

Cadwalader, George, at Con- 
treras, 212, 214. 

Caledonian at Lake Erie, 160, 
161, 163, 170. 

California, coast explored, 9, 10; 
annexation, 10; discovery of 
gold, 10, 230; occupation 
(1847), 192. 

Callender, Captain, at Bunker 
Hill, hi; cowardice, iii. 

Campbell, Major, at the siege of 
Yorktown, 148. 

Canada restored to France, 31. 

Canonchet, death, 54. 

Carolina, purchased, 61. 

Cartier, Jacques, voyage to the 
St. Lawrence, 12. 

Cass, Lewis, resigns, 231. 

Cassin, Lieutenant-Comman- 
dant, at the battle of Lake 
Champlain, 176. 

Castilla in Spanish War, 355. 

Castro, Jose, faction in Cali- 
fornia, 190. 

Cervera, Pasquale, squadron, 
359; at Santiago, 360; battle, 
369-372. 

Champlain, Samuel, defeats 
Mohawks, 13; attacks Iro- 
quois, 27, 28; founds Quebec, 

63- 

Chapin, Cyrenus, at Lake Erie, 
162. 

Chapultepec, storming of, 182. 

Charles I. executed, 42. 

Charleston Harbor forts, Scott 
advises reinforcement, 236; 
available force, 237; Buchan- 
an's passive attitude, 238; 
condition, 239; Moultrie re- 
paired, 240; Gardner asks for 
reinforcements, 241; attempt- 
ed removal of ammunition, 



381 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



241; Porter's report, 242; 
Anderson advises reinforce- 
ment and occupation of Pinck- 
ney and Sumter, 244; state 
enrollment of fort laborers, 
245; Buell's instructions to 
Anderson, 246; Pinckney oc- 
cupied, 247; state demands 
Sumter, 248; demand with- 
drawn, 249; state patrol, 251; 
removal to Sumter, 252; con- 
sequent excitement, 254; An- 
derson refuses to return, 255; 
state occupies other forts, 
255; Star of the West, 256; 
Anderson promised support, 
257; food problem at Sumter, 
258; map of, 259; demand for 
surrender of Sumter, 264; 
Fox's expedition to relieve, 
265; Scott ridiculed plan of 
relief, 265; bombardment of 
Sumter, 267; surrender, 271; 
effect of relief expedition, 272. 

Chauncey, Isaac, command, 159; 
at Lake Ontario, 160. 

Chesapeake captured by the 
Shannon, 1 56. 

Chestnut, James, at Fort Sum- 
ter, 264, 265, 271. 

Chicago fire, 343. 

Childs, Colonel, at Puebla, 210. 

Chippeway at Lake Erie, 163. 

Choiseul, French premier, 64. 

Chubb at Lake George, 175. 

Churubusco, battle, 215-220. 

Civil Rights Bill passed, 343, 

344. 

Clark, Charles Edgar, in Spanish 
War, 360. 

Clark, George Rogers, conquest 
of Northwest, 7, 144. 

Clay Compromise adopted, 
230. 

Clayton - Bulwer Treaty con- 
cluded, 230. 

Cleveland, Grover, annexation 
of Hawaii, 11; elected Presi- 
dent, 344, 345; Venezuela 
boundary dispute, 345, 346; 
Cuban Filibusters, 346. 

Clinton, Fort, 139, 140. 



Clinton, James, at New York, 
122; attacks Forts Clinton and 
Montgomery, 140. 

Clinton, Sir Henry, arrival at 
Boston, 102; at Bunker Hill, 
114, 117; Putnam, 140; at- 
tacks Forts Clinton and 
Montgomery, 140; captures 
Charleston, 144. 

Colorado, admission into the 
Union, 344. 

Columbia River, mouth dis- 
covered, 8; Lewis and Clark 
expedition, 8. 

Columbus discovers Western 
World, 12. 

Committee of Correspondence 
in Boston, 92. 

Committee of Safety in Massa- 
chusetts, 103. 

Concord in Spanish War, 351. 

Confederate States, congress as- 
sembles, 273. 

Confiance at Lake George, 175, 
176, 178, 179. 

Connecticut, settlement, 3 1 ; con- 
stitution adopted, 42; con- 
scription, 120, 

Conner, David, before Vera Cruz, 
194. 

Conscription riots, 327. 

Constellation captures L'lnsur- 
gente, 154. 

Constitution, Fort, 139, 140. 

Constitution captures the Guer- 
riere, 155; Java, 156. 

Contreras, battle, 21 1-2 14. 

Continental Congress, adopts 
Declaration of Independence, 
119. 

Continental Village, burned, 141 

Cook, James, pathfinder, 68, 
69. 

Cornwallis, Lord Charles, de- 
feats Gates at Camden,^ 144; 
defeats Greene at Guilford 
Court-house, 144; at York- 
town, 147; situation, 148; sur- 
render, 149, 

Correo, in Spanish War, 355. 

Cortez enters city of Mexico, 
12. 



382 



INDEX 



Cristobal Colon in Spanish War, 
3 59, 370-372. 

Cuba, insurrection, 343, 348; de- 
sires annexation, 347; south- 
ern desire for, 347; Polk's at- 
tempter purchase, 347; " Os- 
tend Manifesto," 347; Marcy's 
attitude, 348; Virginius af- 
fair, 348; Grant and, 348; 
McKinley's protest, 348; 
Spain's reply, 349; blowing 
up of the Maine, 349; Proc- 
tor's speech, 349; war with 
Spain declared, 3 50; blockade, 
359; Santiago campaign, 362- 
368; naval battle off Santiago, 
3 69-3 7 2 ; Spanish surrender, 
372. 

Cubans proclaim independence, 

345- 

Culp's Hill, battle, 320-322. 

Cushing, Caleb, visit to Pickens, 
250. 

Custer, G. A., in Gettysburg 
campaign, 311; at Appomat- 
tox, 330, 337. 

Custer massacre by Sioux, 344. 

Davis, Jefferson, elected 
President of the Confederate 
States, 231; capture, 328. 

Davis, Jefferson C, occupies 
Castle Pinckney, 247. 

Decatur, Stephen, destroys the 
Philadelphia, 155; imposes 
terms upon the Dey of Algiers, 
180. 

Declaration of Independence 
adopted by Continental Con- 
gress, 119. 

Deerfield Massacre, 48, 49, 60. 

Delaware River occupied by 
Swedes, 4. 

De Ramezay at Quebec, 69. 

De Riedesel, Baroness, at 
Behmus' Heights, 138, 142. 

De Soto, Fernando, reaches the 
Mississippi River, 12. 

Detroit at Lake Erie, 160, 163. 

Deuxponts, William, Count de, 
at the siege of Yorktown, 148. 

Devin, T. C, in Gettysburg 



campaign, 311; at Appo- 
mattox, 330. 

Dewey, George, preparations for 
Spanish War, 350; forces, 351; 
battle in Manila Bay, 352- 
354; German fleet, 355; capt- 
ure of Manila, 356; Samp- 
son-Schley controversy, 375, 
376. 

Dickinson, John, on taxation, 
90. 

Diederich, Admiral von, in 
Manila Bay, 355. 

Dix, Major, at Buena Vista, 204. 

Don Antonio de Ulloa in Spanish 
War, 354, 355. 

Don Juan de Austria in Spanish 
War, 355. 

Do nelson, Fort, surrender, 273, 
295. 

Doniphan, A. W., expedition 
against Mexico, 192. 

Doubleday, Abner, and removal 
to Sumter, 252; in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311, 313. 

Dred Scott decision, 230. 

Dundas, Lieutenant - Colonel, 
Commissioner at the surren- 
der of Cornwallis, 149. 

Duquesne, Fort, captured, 63. 

Dutch, founded New Amster- 
dam, 4; relations with In- 
dians, 25, 26; West India 
Company, 30. 

Eagan, C. P., court-martial, 

374- 
Eagle at Lake George, 175, 176, 

177, 179. 
East Florida, Spain cedes claim, 

9- 

Edward, Fort, 126, 127, 128. 

El Caney, battle, 365. 

Elliott, Lieutenant, at Lake 
Erie, 160, 161, 166; prize- 
money, 171. 

Endicott, John, avenges Old- 
ham, 35, 36. 

England, expansion in America, 
4, 5; and France in America, 
5; and Spain in America, 6; 
declares war against Spain, 77. 



25 



3^3 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



Enterprise captures the Boxer, 

156. 
Erie, Fort, 160. 
Ericsson, John, designs Monitor, 

278. 
Essex surrenders to the Phoebe 

and Cherub, 156. 
Ewell, R. S., at Gettysburg, 307, 

308. 

Farragut, David Glasgow, on 
the Essex at Valparaiso, 290; 
commands New Orleans ex- 
pedition, 291; passing of the 
forts, 293; on to Vicksburg, 
294; death, 343- 

Farns worth, E. J., in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311. 

Faunce, John, Sumter relief ex- 
pedition, 266. 

Febiger, Christian, at Bunker 
Hill, 115, 116. 

Fillmore, Millard, succeeds to 
Presidency, 230. 

Finch Sit Lake George, 175. 

Fisher, Fort, captured, 327. 

Fish, Major, at the siege of 
Yorktown, 148. 

Flag, American, adopted, 143. 

Fletcher, Captain, Sumter re- 
lief expedition, 266. 

Florida, admission into the 
Union, 181. 

Florida ceded to England, 5; 
secession, 231. 

Floyd, J. B., and transfer of 
ammunition, 241, 242; re- 
moves Gardner, 243; on re- 
moval to Sumter, 255. 

Forrest, Dulaney, at the battle 
of Lake Erie, 170, 171. 

Forrest, N. B., raids on federal 
communications, 296. 

Foster, J. G., reports progress 
on Sumter, 240; forty-mus- 
kets episode, 241; exposes 
"excitement" fake, 248. 

Fox, G. v., expedition to re- 
lieve Fort Sumter, 265, 266, 
272. 

France, settlements in America, 
4, 5; and England in America, 



5; driven from Guinea coast, 
64; progress of discoveries 
(map), 65; lack of sea power, 
66; Quebec campaign, 68-76; 
independence of United States, 
1 43 ; declares war against Eng- 
land, 144. 

Francis, Colonel, at Ticonderoga 
126. 

Franklin, Benjamin, Stamp Act, 
89; on colonial jealousy, 

97- 

Fraser, General, at Ticonderoga, 
124; attacks St. Clair, 126; at 
Behmus's Heights, 137, 138 

Freedmen's Bureau, organiza- 
tion, 328. 

French, begin settlement of 
Louisiana, 60; at Yorktown, 
145-150; at Quebec, 68-70; 
declare war against Mexico, 

273- 
Frolic captured by the Wasp, 

155- 
Frontenac, Fort, captured, 63. 
Frye, Colonel, at Bunker Hill, 

104. 

Gage, Thomas, governor of 
Massachusetts, 95 ; seizes 
munitions of war, 96; rein- 
forced, 100; council of war, 
106. 

Gamble, Peter, at the battle of 
Lake Champlain, 178, 

Gamble, William, in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311. 

Gardner, Colonel, at Bunker 
Hill, 108; mortally wounded, 

115- 

Gardner, J. L., commands 
Charleston forts, 241; at- 
tempts to secure ammunition, 
241; removed, 242. 

Garfield, J. A., elected Presi- 
dent, 344; assassinated, 344. 

Garretson, G. A., in Porto Rico, 

373- 
Garrison, Willam Lloyd, and 

the Liberator, 181. 
Gaspee commission, 92, 93. 
Gates, Horatio, supersedes 



384 



INDEX 



Schuyler, 131; at Behmus's 
Heights, 133; increase of 
army, 134; deprives Arnold 
of command, 134; terms pro- 
posed to Burgoyne, 139, 142; 
reputation, 143; defeated at 
Camden, 144. 

General Lezo in Spanish War, 355. 

George I., King of England, 60. 

George II., accession, 61. 

George III., accession, 77. 

Georgia, charter, 5; secession, 
231. 

Germaine, Lord George, and 
loyalists, 120. 

Germany, result of Thirty Years' 
War, 4. 

Gerrish, Colonel, at Bunker 
Hill, 112, 115. 

Gettysburg campaign, Lee's 
northward march, 307; Fed- 
eral movements, 309; Federal 
cavalry, 309; misuse of Con- 
federate cavalry, 309, 310; 
Meade displaces Hooker, 310, 
311; forces, 311; map, 312; 
battle first day, 313; topog- 
raphy of field, 316; second 
day, position of forces, 317; 
Longstreet and Lee, 317, 318, 
322; Round Top and Valley, 
319, 320; Gulp's Hill, 321; 
Federal council, 321; third 
day, 321; Pickett's attack, 
324; Lee confesses error, 325; 
question of counter-charge, 
325; losses, 326; Lincoln's dis- 
appointment, 326. 

Gibbon, John, in Gettysburg 
campaign, 316. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, takes 
possession of Newfoundland, 

13- 

Gillis, J. P., Sumter relief ex- 
pedition, 266. 

Gimat, Colonel, at the siege of 
Yorktown, 148. 

Gloucester in Spanish War, 369. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, attempts 
settlement on Massachusetts 
coast, 13. 

Grant, U. S., proposed annexa- 



tion of Santo Domingo, 11; 
Fort Donelson; Lincoln's faith 
in, 296; destruction of Holly 
Springs depot, 296; in com- 
mand before Vicksburg, 298; 
opposing force, 299; naval 
auxiliary, 300; futile opera- 
tions, 300-301; crosses river 
below Vicksburg, 302; Port 
Gibson, 302; abandons his 
base, 302; victories in rear of 
Vicksburg, 302; siege of Vicks- 
burg, 304; receives surrender 
of Vicksburg, 304; comman- 
der-in-chief, 327; at Appo- 
mattox, 33 5-342; meeting with 
Lee, 336; appearance, 340, 
341; elected President, 343; 
Cuba, 348. 

Grasse, Frangois Joseph Paul, 
Count de, visited by Wash- 
ington, 146; blockades mouth 
of York River, 147. 

Graves, Admiral, in command 
of British fleet at the Battle 
of Bunker Hill, 106. 

Greene, Christopher, at the 
battle of Guilford, 144. 

Greene, Lieutenant, account of 
fight with the Virginia, 284- 
287. 

Greene, Lieutenant-Colonel, at 
Fort Monroe, 251. 

Greene, Nathaniel, joins army, 
99; at Jamaica Plains, 103. 

Gregg, D. M., cavalry in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311. 

Grenville, George, premier, 81; 
colonial policy, 82 ; Stamp Act, 
84; fall, 88. 

Gridley, Charles Vernon, Manila 
Bay battle, 353. 

Gridley, Richard, at Bunker 
Hill, 103, 104, 105, III, 116. 

Gridley, Samuel, at Bunker 
Hill, 104. 

Grierson, B. H., raid, 302. 

Guadalupe-Hidalgo, treaty of 
ratified, 196, 197. 

Guadeloupe captured, 66. 

Guerriere captured by the Con- 
stitution, 155. 



38s 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



Halleck, H. W., commander- 
in-chief, 294; Grant, 298, 302; 
Hooker, 310. 

Hamilton, Alexander, at the 
siege of Yorktown, 148. 

Hancock, John, sloop Liberty 
seized, 91; riots, 92; out- 
lawed, 102. 

Hancock, W. S., in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311, 314, 315, 

325- 

Hardin, Colonel, at Buena Vista, 
205. 

Harmar, Josiah, expedition, 154. 

Harrison, Benjamin, elected 
President, 345. 

Harrison, W. H., and Tecumseh, 
155; elected President, 181. 

Harvard College, foundation, 31. 

Harvey, John, governor of Vir- 
ginia, 34. 

Hawaii, annexation, 11; re- 
public, 345; annexed to the 
United States, 346. 

Hawke, Sir Edward, sea-fight 
off Quiberon Bay, 64. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., awarded 
Presidency, 344. 

Henry, Fort, surrender, 273. 

Henry, Patrick, Stamp Act, 
87. 

Herkimer, General, at the siege 
of Fort Schuyler, 129. 

Herrera, J. J. de, against an- 
nexation of Texas, 185. 

Higginson, Captain, Porto Rico 
campaign, 373. 

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 
quoted, 118. 

Highlands of the Hudson, de- 
fences, 139, 140. 

Hill, A. P., in northern invasion, 
307, 308; at Beaver Dam 
Creek, 313; at Gettysburg, 
317. 320. 

Hill, Fort, bastion blown up, 304. 

Hobson, R. P., sinking of 
Merrimac, 361. 

Holdup, Thomas, at Lake Erie, 
167. 

Holly Springs, destruction of 
federal depot, 296. 



Honduras, English settlement, 
4- 

Hooker, Joseph, commands 
Army of the Potomac, 294; 
after Chancellorsville, 306; 
Lee's invasion, 308; pur- 
suit of Lee, 309; use of 
cavalry, 309; relieved of com- 
mand, 310, 311, 

Hornet captures the Peacock, 1 56. 

House of Commons, member- 
ship, 85, 86. 

Howard, O. O., in Gettysburg 
campaign, 311, 314, 317. 

Howell, J. A., in Spanish War, 

358- 

Howe, Sir William, arrival at 
Boston, 102; in command at 
Bunker Hill, 106; at Moulton's 
Point, 107; moves on Breed's 
Hill, III, 113, 115, 116; re- 
pulsed, 112, 113; bravery, 
113; wounded, 115; Phila- 
delphia campaign, 122. 

Hubberton, battle at, 126, 130. 

Hudson Bay Company, incor- 
porated, 43. 

Hudson, Henry, ascends the 
Hudson River, 30. 

Hunter at Lake Erie, 163. 

Illinois, admitted to the Union, 
180. 

Independence, Fort, 140, 141. 

India, British possession, 66. 

Indiana admitted into the 
Union, 180. 

Indiana in Spanish War, 358, 
369-372. 

Indians, American, treatment 
of, 14, 15, 17, 18; distribu- 
tion of (map), 16; land pur- 
chases from, 15, 17; early 
warfare with, 17, 21; price on 
heads, 20; massacre in Vir- 
ginia, 21, 22, 24, 30; period of 
peace, 21, 22; King Philip's 
War, 22, 23; treatment of 
prisoners, 23; relations with 
the Dutch, 25; with the Eng- 
lish, 26; with the French, 27, 
28, 29; praying, 45, 49, 50. 



386 



INDEX 



Infanta Maria Teresa in Spanish 

War, 359. 
Inflation Bill vetoed, 344. 
Ingalls, Rufus, at Appomattox, 

Iowa, admission into the Union, 
181. 

Iowa in Spanish War, 358, 369- 
372. 

Iroquois (Five Nations), tribes, 
25; friendship for Dutch, 25; 
origin of hostilities to French, 
27 ; French expedition against, 
28; raids in Canada, 29; weak- 
ened, 30. 

Isla de Cuba in Spanish War, 

354, 355- 
Isla de Luzon in Spanish War, 

355- 
Isla de Mandanao in Spanish 
War, 355. 

Jackson, Andrew, and Creek 
Indians, 156; seizes Pensacola, 
179; captures Spanish fort, St. 
Mark's, 180; elected Presi- 
dent, 180, 181. 

Jackson, Fort, Farragut passes, 
293; surrenders, 294. 

Jackson, Major, at Bunker Hill, 
116. 

James I. grants patent to Lon- 
don and Plymouth companies, 

13- 
James II., King of England, 

Jamestown, settlement, 4, 13. 

Jefferson, Thomas, and Louis- 
iana purchase, 8; Lewis and 
Clark Expedition, 8; interest 
in western exploration, 9; 
elected President, 154, 155. 

Jeffries, Doctor, at Bunker Hill, 

Johnson, Andrew, succeeds to 
the Presidency, 328. 

Johnson, Colonel, at Ticon- 
deroga, 135. 

Johnson, President, impeach- 
ment, 343. 

Johnson, Sir William, captures 
Fort Niagara, 73, 74. 



Johnston, western command, 
299; Vicksburg campaign, 302, 

304. 
Johnstown flood, 345. 
Jones, D. R., and surrender of 

Sumter, 271. 

Kansas, civil war, 230; ad- 
mission into the Union, 231. 

Kearny, S. W., occupies New 
Mexico, 192. 

Kearsarge and the Alabama, 
327; lost, 345. 

Kentucky, admission into the 
Union, 154, 

Kilpatrick, H. J,, cavalry in 
Gettysburg campaign, 311, 

King George's War, beginning, 
61, 63. 

King Philip (Pometacom), chief 
of the Wampanoags, 45; at- 
tack on Swanzey, 46; at 
Pocasset, 47; returned to 
Mount Hope, 55; death, 56. 

King Philip's War, 22, 23, 44-58. 

King William's War, 59, 60, 63, 

Kossuth, Louis, arrival in 
United States, 230. 

Knowlton, Thomas, at Bunker 
Hill, 104, 109, 116; killed at 
Battle of Harlem Heights, 
104, 

Knox, Henry, at Bunker Hill, 
115; at Yorktown, 147, 148. 

Lady P revest at Lake Erie, 
163. 

La Fayette, Marquis de, at 
Yorktown, 145. 

Lake Champlain, battle, 173- 
179; losses, 179. 

Lake Erie, battle, 158-172; 
Perry victorious, 169; losses, 
170; prize money, 171. 

Lamon, W. H., visit to Charles- 
ton, 256W; unauthorized state- 
ments, 256. 

Lane, Henry S., at Buena Vista, 
200. 

Langdon, Samuel, President of 
Harvard College, at Cam- 
bridge, 104. 



387 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



Las Guasimas, battle, 365. 

La Salle, explorations, 59, 

63. 

Lathrop, Captain, in King Phil- 
ip's War, 48, 49. 

Laub, Henry, at the battle of 
Lake Erie, 170. 

Laurens, John, at the siege of 
Yorktown, 148; Commissioner 
at the surrender of Cornwallis, 
149. 

Lauzun, Duke de, at the siege 
of Yorktown, 147. 

Lawrence, at Lake Erie, 163, 
164, 168, 169, 170. 

Lawton, H. W., in Spanish War, 

364, 365- 

Learned, General, at Behmus' 
Heights, 134. 

Lee, Captain, and surrender of 
Sumter, 271. 

Lee, R. E., occupies Winchester, 
294; enters Pennsylvania, 2 94; 
considered unconquerable, 
306; army at its best, 307; 
northern invasion, 307; mis- 
use of cavalry, 309; force in 
Gettysburg campaign, 312; 
battle, first day, 313; second 
day, position, 317; rejects 
Longstreet 's advice , 317, 
318; third day, 321; Pickett's 
charge, 324; confesses error, 
325; retreat, 326; at Appo- 
mattox, surrender, 328, 335- 
341; death, 343- 

Lewis and Clark expedition, 8, 

155- 

Lincoln, Abraham, elected Presi- 
dent, 231; Sumter, 272; call 
for militia, 273; protection 
of Washington, 275; Vir- 
ginia, 279; faith in Grant, 
296; Lee's invasion, 308; 
Hooker, 308, 310; failure 
to crush Lee, 326, 327; Lee's 
surrender, 342; re-elected 
President , 327; assassinated , 
328. 

Lincoln, Benjamin, and Stark, 
130; at Behmus' Heights, 135; 
wounded, 138; surrenders 



Charleston to Clinton, 144; 
at Yorktown, 147. 

Lincoln, Captain, at Buena 
Vista, 202. 

Lincoln, Robert T., at Appo- 
mattox, 337. 

Linnet at Lake George, 175, 
176. 

U Insurgente captured by the 
Constellation , 154. 

Little Belt at Lake Erie, 163. 

Locomotive, first, 181. 

Lornbardini, Manuel, at Buena 
Vista, 201. 

Long Island, battle, 119. 

Longstreet, James, rejoins Lee, 
307; disapproves of northern 
invasion, 307; dispute with 
Lee, 317, 318, 322; at Gettys- 
burg, 318, 320; expected 
counter-stroke, 325. 

Louis XIV. attempted consoli- 
dation of Spain and France, 
5..8. 

Louis XVI. execution, 154. 

Louisiana, purchase, 8, 155; 
settlement, 60; retrocession 
of, to France, 154; admission 
into the Union, 155; seces- 
sion, 231. 

Loyalists, views, 97; persecuted, 
98; at Boston, 106; in British 
army, 120; in Tryon County, 
129. 

McClellan, G. B., command- 
er-in-chief, Federal armies, 
273; force, 274; his superiors, 

275- 

McClernand, John A. B., in 
command before Vicksburg, 
298; placed under Grant, 298; 
in Vicksburg campaign, 302. 

McCulloch in Spanish War, 354. 

Macdonough, Thomas, Jr., at 
Lake Champlain, 173; ac- 
count of battle, 176-178; 
testimonials, 179. 

Macedonian captured by the. 
United States, 155. 

McKee, Colonel, at Buena Vista, 



388 



INDEX 



McKinley Tariff Bill, passed, 

345- 
McKinley, William, elected 
President, 345; Spain, 346; 
Cuba, 348; declares war, 

3 5°- 

McLaws, Lafayette, in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 318. 

McPherson, James B., Vicks- 
burg campaign, 299. 

McRea, Jenny, murdered, 131, 
132. 

Madison, James, elected Presi- 
dent:, 155, 156. 

Maine admitted into the Union, 
180. 

Maine blown up, 346, 349. 

Manhattan Island purchased, 
15, 30. 

Manila, naval battle, 351-355; 
Dewey's command, 351; 
Montojo's, 351; first shot, 
352; map, 353; Spanish sur- 
render, 354; capture of city, 
356, 373. 

Manning, J. L., and surrender 
of Sumter, 271. 

Marcy, W. L., plan of operations 
against Mexico, 189. 

Marie Antoinette, execution, 

154. 

Marquette, Jacques, on Missis- 
sippi, 43. 63. 

Marquis de Duero in Spanish 
War, 355. 

Maryland, settlement, 31, 

Mason, John, in Pequot War, 
2>d>, 39, 40, 42. 

Mason, J. M., confederate com- 
missioner, captured, 273. 

Massachusetts in Spanish War, 
358, 369. 

Massachusetts, war with Pe- 
quots, 32-42 ; King Philip's 
War, 45-58; charter annulled, 
93; military government, 95; 
conscription, 120. 

Maximilian, Archduke, assumes 
crown of Mexico, 327; capt- 
ured and shot, 343. 

Meade, George Gordon, com- 
mands Army of Potomac, 

389 



294, 311; character and ap- 
pearance, 311; forces under, 
311; reliance in Reynolds, 312; 
at Gettysburg, first day, 313; 
second day, position of forces, 
316, 317; midnight council, 
321; third day, Gulp's Hill, 
322; Pickett's attack, 324; 
question of counter-charge, 
325; Lee's retreat, 326; losses, 
326; Lincoln's disappoint- 
ment, 326. 

Meade, R. K., and removal to 
Sumter, 252. 

Mercer, Samuel, on Sumter re- 
lief expedition, 267. 

Mammae, construction, 276; at- 
tack on Federal vessels, 277; 
fight with Monitor, 278. 

Merrimac, sinking of, 360, 361. 

Merritt, Wesley, in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 311; at Appo- 
mattox, 337; at Manila, 373. 

Mexican War, causes, 183; pop- 
ular movement, 185, 186; 
Taylor in Texas, 186; ad- 
vances to Rio Grande, 187; 
first skirmish, 188; Polk's war 
message, 188; war legislation, 
188; Polk's sincerity, 189; 
Slidell's mission, 189; pur- 
chase of California, 189; map 
(1846-1848), 191; occupation 
of New Mexico and Cali- 
fornia, 192; Wool's expedi- 
tion, 192 ; Doniphan's ex- 
pedition, 192; friction, 192; 
Taylor's campaign, 193; plan 
against city of Mexico, 194; 
Vera Cruz, 194; advance on 
City of Mexico, 195; first 
mission, 195; bribe to Santa 
Anna, 195; armistice, 195; 
futile negotiations, 196; re- 
call of Trist, 196; City of 
Mexico occupied, 196; treaty 
of Guadalupe - Hidalgo, 196 ; 
ratified, 197; Buena Vista, 
198-207; Vera Cruz, 208, 209; 
Cerro Gordo, 209-211; Con- 
treras, 21 1-2 14; Churubusco, 
215-220; Molino Del Rey, 



DECISIVE BATTLES OP AMERICA 



220-225; Chapultepec, 225- 
229; City of Mexico occupied, 
229. 

Mexico, City of, occupied, 182, 
229; campaign against, 190, 
193; captured, 196. 

Miami Indians, defeat St. Clair, 
154; defeated by General An- 
thony Wayne, 154. 

Michigan, admission into the 
Union, 181. 

Miles, N. A., in Spanish War, 
363, 372; Porto Rico cam- 
paign, 373; charges of mal- 
administration of army, 

374- 

Miles, N. P., and surrender of 
Sumter, 271. 

Minnesota, admission into the 
Union, 230. 

Minuit, Governor, purchased the 
island of Manhattan, 15. 

Mississippi, admitted into the 
Union, 180; secession, 231. 

Missouri Compromise, 180; re- 
pealed, 230. 

Molasses Act, in effect, 82; aim, 

83- 

Molino Del Rey, battle, 220- 
225. 

Monitor fight with the Vir- 
ginia, 278, 281-287. 

Monmouth, battle, 144. 

" Monroe Doctrine " announced, 
180. 

Monroe, James, elected Presi- 
dent, 180. 

Montana, admission into the 
Union, 345. 

Montcalm, Marquis de, capture 
of Fort William Henry, 63; 
stand at Quebec, 69; forces, 
69, 70; policy of defence, 72, 
73; meets Wolfe, 76; defeat 
and death, 76. 

Monterey, capture, 193, 198. 

Montgomery, Fort, 139, 140. 

Montojo, Admiral, Manila Bay 
battle, 351, 354. 

Montreal, captured, 77. 

Moore, Major, killed at the 
battle of Bunker Hill, 113. 



Morgan, Daniel, at Behmus' 

Heights, 133, 137. 
Morgan, M. R., at Appomattox, 

Moseley, Captain, in King 

Philip's War, 49. 
Moultrie, Fort, condition, 240; 

guns spiked, 254; occupied by 

state forces, 255. 

Napoleon I. sells Louisiana, 8. 
Narraganset Indians, and Pe- 

quot war, 32-35; King Philip's 

War, 45. 51-5.4. .57- 
Nebraska, admission into the 

Union, 343. 
Nevada, admission into the 

Union, 327. 
New Amsterdam founded, 4. 
Newhall, Colonel, at Appo- 
mattox, 335, 342. 
New Hampshire, settlement, 30; 

conscription, 120. 
New Haven purchased, 17. 
New Jersey established, 43. 
New Orleans, settlement, 60; 

Farragut's expedition against, 

290-294. 
New York in Spanish War, 358. 
Niagara, Fort, captured, 73, 74. 
Niagara at Lake Erie, 163, 170. 
Nixon, John, at the battle of 

Bunker Hill, 113. 
Noailles, Viscount de, at the 

siege of Yorktown, 149. 
North Carolina, secession, 273. 
North Dakota, admission into 

the Union, 345. 
Norton, Doctor, discovery of 

anaesthetics, 182. 

O'Brien, Lieutenant, at Buena 

Vista, 200. 
Ohio, admission into the Union, 

155- 
Oklahoma opened, 345, 
Oldham, John, killed, 34, 36. 
Olympia in Spanish War, 351. 
Oquendo in Spanish War, 359, 

370-371. 
Ord, E. O. C, at Appomattox, 

337- 



390 



INDEX 



Oregon, admission into the 
Union, 231. 

Oregon, in Spanish War, 358; 
voyage around the Horn, 360; 
in battle off Santiago, 369- 
370. 

Oregon, Spain cedes claim, 9; 
joint occupation, 9; annexa- 
tion, 10. 

Ostend manifesto, draw up, 347. 

Otis, James, and "writs of as- 
sistance," 83. 

Palo Alto, battle of, 193. _ 
Panama Canal, construction, 

344. 
Parker, Ely, at Appomattox, 

337- 

Parsons, Usher, at the battle of 
Lake Erie, 168. 

Paterson, General, at Prospect 
Hill (1775), 103; at Bunker 
Hill, 108. 

Peacock captured by the Hornet, 
156. 

Pemberton, J. C, Vicksburg 
campaign, 299; besieged, 304; 
surrenders, 304. 

Penn, William, purchases East 
Jersey, 59. 

Pequots, war with Massachu- 
setts colony, 32; killing of 
Stone, 33, 34, 36; murder of 
Oldham, 34, 36; Narraganset 
alliance, 35, 36; settlements 
attacked, 37; capture of forts, 
39, 41; exterminated, 41. 

Perry, Oliver Hazard, battle of 
Lake Erie, 156; boyhood, 158; 
at Lake Erie, 160; command, 
163; shifts flag, 164; victory, 
167; message, 169; losses, 170; 
treatment of prisoners, 171; 
promotion, 171; prize money, 
171. 

Petersburg, siege of, 327. 

Petrel in Spanish War, 351. 

Pettigrew, J. J., and Ander- 
son, 254; Pickett's charge, 
324- 

Philadelphia, meeting of colonial 
delegates (1774), 94. 

3 



Philippine Islands, United States* 
possession, 11. 

Pickens, F. W., request for 
Sumter, 248; removal to 
Sumter. 254. 

Pickett, G. E., charge at Gettys- 
burg, 318, 323, 324. 

Pico, Pio, faction in California, 
190. 

Pierce, Franklin, elected Presi- 
dent, 230. 

Pigot, Sir Robert, at Bunker 
Hill, 106. 

Pillow, Fort, storming, 327. 

Pillow, Gideon J., at Vera Cruz, 
208; at Contreras, 211; at 
Churubusco, 215. 

Pinckney, Castle, condition, 239; 
occupied by Anderson, 247; 
occupied by state forces, 255. 

Pitcairn, Major, shot at Breed's 
Hill, 116. 

Pitt, Fort, built, 74. 

Pitt, William, in British cabinet, 
63; naval activity, 64, 66; 
demands enforcement of re- 
strictive laws in the colonies, 

83- 

Pizarro, conquest of Peru, 12. 

Plains of Abraham, battle, 75. 

Plassey, battle of, 64. 

Pleasonton, Alfred, in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 309. 

Pocanokets. See Wampanoags. 

Polk, James K., elected Presi- 
dent, 181; war message, 
188; Texas boundary, 188; 
Slidell's mission, 189; ag- 
gressiveness, 189; policy of 
conquering a peace, 189; 
plan of operations, 189, 190, 
194; friction, 192; Trist, 196; 
accepts treaty, 197; Cuba, 

347- 
Ponce de Leon, Juan, voyage 

to Florida, 12. 
Pomeroy, Seth, at Bunker Hill, 

108, 117. 
Pometacom. See King Philip. 
Poor, Enoch, at Behmus' 

Heights, 136. 
Porter, David D. , at the battle of 

91 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



New Orleans, 292; Vicksburg 

campaign, 300, 304^. 
Porter, Fitz-John, report on 

Charleston harbor forts, 242. 
Porter, Horace, at Appomattox, 

33^> 337- 

Port Gibson, battle, 302. 

Port Hudson, Banks' expedition 
against, 305. 

Port Royal, in Acadia, founda- 
tion, 63. 

Port Royal, Nova Scotia, capt- 
ured, 63. 

Preble at Lake George, 176, 
179. 

Prescott, Lieutenant, nephew 
of Colonel Prescott, killed at 
battle of Bunker Hill, 115. 

Prescott, William, at Bunker 
Hill, 103; fortifies Breed's 
Hill, 105; bravery, 107; re- 
inforced, 107; offers com- 
mand to Warren, 109; re- 
pulses Howe, 112, 113; re- 
treat, 116. 

President, fight with Little Belt, 

155- 
Prevost, Sir George, at Lake 

Champlain, 175, 178. 
Prideaux, Brigadier, expedition 

to Niagara, 72, 73. 
Proctor, Redfield, speech on 

Cuba, 349. 
Pryor, R. A., and surrender of 

Sumter, 271. 
Putnam, Israel, joins army, 99; 

at Cambridge, 103; at Bunker 

Hill, 104, 107, 108, 112, 115, 

117; at the Highlands, 121; 

at Peekskill, 140. 

Quebec, settled, 4, 13, 63; act, 
6; taken by English, 30; 
Wolfe's expedition against, 
66; Montcalm at, 69; strong- 
hold, 70; river protection, 
70, 71; defensive force, 71; 
progress of siege, 72; plains of 
Abraham, 75; losses, 76; sur- 
render, 76. 

Queen Anne, accession, 60. 

Queen Anne's War, 60, 6$. 



Queen Charlotte at Lake Erie, 

163. 
Quitman, John A., at Vera 

Cruz, 208. 

Raleigh in Spanish War, 351. 
Raleigh, Sir Walter, expedition 

to North Carolina, 13. 
Rawlins, General, at Appomat 

tox, 336, 337. 
Reconstruction Act, passage 

343- 
Reed, James, at Bunker Hill 

107, 116. 
Reina Cristina in Spanish War 

354, 355- 
Resaca de la Palma, battle, 193 
Revolution, American, primary 
causes, 79; Samuel Adams as 
factor, 95; outbreak, 99; mili- 
tary preparations, 100. 
Reynolds, John E., in Gettys- 
burg campaign, 312; death, 

3^3- 

Rey, Vara el, at El Caney, 3 66m. 

Rhett, R. B., Jr., and Ander- 
son's removal to Sumter, 252. 

Rhode Island, purchased, 17; 
settlement, 31; battle of, 144. 

Riedesel, General, at Ticonde- 
roga, 124, 126. 

Roanoke Island, English settle- 
ment, 13; captured, 288. 

Rochambeau, Count de, at 
Williamsburg (1781), 146. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, and the 
iiavy, 357; Rough Riders, 
362; Sampson- Schley contro- 
versy, 376. 

Ross, Major, commissioner at 
the surrender of Cornwallis, 
149. 

Rowan, S. C, and Sumter relief 
expedition, 266. 

Ruffin, Edmund, opens fire on 
Sumter, 267. 

St. Augustine, founded, 13. 

St. Clair, Arthur, at Ticon- 
deroga, 123; defeat, 124; pur- 
sued by British, 126; defeat 
by Miami Indians, 154- 



392 



INDEX 



St. Leger, Colonel, siege of Fort 
Schuyler, 129; retreat, 132. 

St. Marks captured, 180. 

St. Paul in Spanish War, 360. 

St. Simon, Marquis de, at the 
siege of Yorktown, 147. 

Salem, settlement, 30. 

Sampson, W. T., command, 358; 
search for Cervera's squadron, 
359; blockade of coast of 
Cuba, 3 59; battle off Santiago, 
369-371; Schley controversy, 

375- 

San Juan d'Ulloa, Fort, 208. 

San Juan Hill, battle, 365. 

Santa Anna, at Buena Vista, 
194, 198-207; bribe, 195; ab- 
dicates, 196; at Cerro Gordo, 
209; at Contreras, 21 1-2 14; at 
Churubusco , 2 1 5-2 20; at 
Molino Del Rey, 220-225; 
Chapultepec, 225-229. 

Santiago de Cuba, Cervera's 
squadron at, 360; blockade, 
361; sinking of Merrimac, 361; 
preparations of army against, 
362; voyage and landing of 
army, 363-364; LasGuasimas, 
365; El Caney, 365; San Juan 
Hill, 366-368; map, 367; 
naval battle, 369-372; sur- 
render, 372; condition of army 
373; return of troops, 373. 

Santo Domingo, proposed an- 
nexation with United States, 
II. 

Saratoga battle (1777), 120- 

143- 

Saratoga at Lake George, 175, 
176, 178, 179. 

Saunders, Admiral, at siege of 
Quebec, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 74. 

Savannah, founded, 61. 

Saybrook, Fort, beleaguered, 37, 
38, 40. 

Schley, W. S., flying squadron, 
358; search for Cervera's 
squadron, 359-361; battle off 
Santiago, 370; Sampson con- 
troversy, 375. 

Schuyler, Fort, relief, 129. 

Schuyler, Philip, command, 120; 



at Fort Edward, 126; prej- 
udices against, 127; proc- 
lamation, 128; superseded by 
Gates, 131; at Stillwater, 128; 
and Arnold, 129; exonerated, 

143- 

Schwan, Theodore, in Porto 
Rico, 373. 

Scott, Winfield, plan of opera- 
tions against Mexico, 189; 
commands Mexican expedi- 
tion, 194; bribe to Santa 
Anna, 195; proposed armis- 
tice, 195, 196; captures Vera 
Cruz, 195, 208, 209; Cerro 
Gordo, 209; Contreras, 211- 
214; Churubusco, 215-220; 
Molino del Rey, 220-225; 
Chapultepec, 225—229; oc- 
cupies the City of Mexico, 
229; advises reinforcement of 
Charleston Harbor forts, 236; 
inaccurate statement of forces 
237; Fox's plan of relief, 
265; succeeded by McClellan, 

273- 
Sedgwick, John, in Gettysburg 

campaign, 311, 316. 
Sedition Act, passage, 154. 
Seminole War, beginning, 180; 

termination, 181. 
Seven Years' War, beginning, 

63- 

Seward, W. H., purchase of 
Alaska, 11; Danish West 
India Islands, 11. 

Shafter, W. R., Santiago cam- 
paign, 363, 364, 365, 369, 372. 

Shannon captures the Caesa- 
peake, 156. 

Shays' Rebellion in Massa- 
chusetts, 153; suppression, 

154- 
Sheridan, P. H., at Appomattox, 

U<^^ ?,?>^^ 334, 335, d>Z(>^ 342. 

Sherman, William T., at Buena 
Vista, 202, 204, 206; and Mc- 
Clernand, 298; in Vicksburg 
campaign, 299, 302; march 
on Atlanta, 327; occupies 
Charleston, 327. 

Shields, James, at Vera Cruz, 



393 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



208; at Contreras, 212; at 
Churubusco, 217. 

Sickles, D. E., in Gettysburg 
campaign, 311, 317. 

Sigsbee, C. D., in Spanish War, 
360. 

Simmons, Colonel, at Benning- 
ton, 131. 

Six Nations (Indians), in coun- 
cil, 124, 132. 

Skene, Philip K., Council at 
Castleton, 127. 

Slavery, introduced into Vir- 
ginia, 30; enlistment, 121; 
importation prohibited, 155. 

Slidell, John, mission to Mexico, 
189; captured, 273. 

Slocum, H. W., in Gettysburg 
campaign, 311, 317. 

Small, Major, at Bunker Hill, 

113- 
Smith, C. H., at Appomattox, 

332- 

Smith, General, at Contreras, 
213, 214. 

Smith, Persifer, at Contreras, 
212. 

Smith, John, on American In- 
dians, 17. 

Smith, Kirby, at Molino del 
Rey, 221; at Vicksburg, 299, 

304- 

South Carolina, secession, 231. 

South Dakota, admission into 
the Union, 345. 

Spain, territorial growth in 
America, 2, 3, 4; loss of terri- 
tory, 5; and England in 
America, 6; colonial revolu- 
tion, 9; cedes claim to Oregon, 
9; in Cuba, 345. 

Spanish War, causes, 347-349; 
war declared, 350; Dewey at 
Manila, 351-356; naval prep- 
aration, 357; comparative 
naval forces, 358, 359; block- 
ade of Cuba, 359; Santiago 
campaign, 360-369; maps, 
367, 371; naval battle, 369- 
372; surrender, 372; Porto 
Rico campaign, 373; capture 
of Manila, 373, 374; army 



investigation, 374; Sampson- 
Schley controversy, 375, 376. 
Specie Payment, resumption, 

Speedlove, Major, killed at 
Bunker Hill, 115. 

Spottsylvania Court - house, 
battle, 327. 

Stam_p Act, proposed, 84; first 
reception of proposal, 85; re- 
sistance, 88; repeal urged, 
89; repealed, 89. 

Stanwix, Fort, siege, 129. 

Stanwix, John, sent to succor 
Pittsburg, 73; built Fort 
Pitt, 74. 

Stark, John, joins army, 99; 
at Medford, 103; at Bunker 
Hill, 107, 116; insubordina- 
tion, 130; at Bennington, 130, 
131; censured by Congress, 
134; promoted, 135. 

Star of the West expedition, 256. 

Stillwater, battle of, 119. 

Stockton, R. F., in California, 
192. 

Stuart, J. E. B., and Lee's north- 
ward march, 309; raid during 
Gettysburg campaign, 309, 
310; Gettysburg, 323. 

Stuyvesant, Peter, and Swedish 
settlers, 42. 

Sumter, Fort, condition, 240, 
244; state demands, 248; 
Anderson removes to, 251- 
253; flag -raising, 254; Star 
of the West expedition, 256; 
armament, 262; bombard- 
ment, 267; surrenders, 271. 

"Swamp Fight," King Philip's 
War, 52, 56. 

Swedes occupy the Delaware 
River, 4. 

Sykes, George, in Gettysburg 
campaign, 311. 

Tarenteens (Eastern Indians), 
and King Philip's War, 50. 

Tarleton, Banastre, at the siege 
of Yorktown, 147. 

Taylor, Dick, at Vicksburg, 
304- 



394 



INDEX 



Taylor, H. C, in Spanish War, 

363- 

Taylor, Zachary, at Buena Vista, 
182; in Texas, 186; advances 
to Rio Grande, 187; first 
skirmish, 188; captures Mon- 
terey, 193; plans against City 
of Mexico, 194; at Buena 
Vista, 194, 198-207; elected 
President, 229; death, 230. 

Telephone, invention, 344. 

Tennessee, admission into the 
Union, 154; secession, 273. 

Territory, European claims in 
America, 2, 4, 5, 6; map of 
growth, 3; of the United 
States, 7-12. 

Texas in Spanish War, 358, 370, 

371- 

Texas, rival claims, 9; annexa- 
tion, 10; republic proclaimed, 
181; revolution, 181; admis- 
sion into the Union, 181; an- 
nexation, 183; cause of Mexi- 
can War, 184; secession, 231. 

Thirty Years' War, resiilt, 4. 

Thomas, John, at Bunker Hill, 
102, III. 

Thompson, Waddy, and an- 
nexation of Texas, 183, 184. 

Thomson, Charles, and Wash- 
ington's letter on the capitula- 
tion of Corn walls, 150. 

Ticonderoga, battle of, 124. 

Ticonderoga, Fort, defence, 123. 

Ticonderoga at Lake George, 
175, 176, 179. 

Tilghman, Lieutenant - Colonel, 
bearer of despatches to Con- 
gress on surrender of Corn- 
wallis at Yorktown, 149. 

Toral, Jose, surrenders Santiago, 
372. 

Tories. See Loyalists. 

Townshend, Charles, revenue 
scheme, 90. 93; tax measures 
repealed, 91. 

Treat, Major, and King Philip's 
War, 49, 52. 

Treaty of Ghent, 179. 

Treaty of Paris, 77. 

Treaty of Utrecht, 60, 63. 

3 



Treaty of Washington, 343. 

Trescot, W, H., on Floyd and 
reinforcement of forts, 241, 
242; demand for Sumter, 
249; removal to Sumter, 
255. 

Trist, N. P., mission, 195; Scott, 
195; first negotiations, 196; 
recalled, but negotiates a 
treaty, 196, 197. 

Tryon, William, burns Con- 
tinental Village, 141. 

Twiggs, David Emanuel, at 
Cerro Gordo, 209; at Churu- 
busco, 215. 

Tyler, John, succeeds to the 
Presidency, 181. 

United States, territorial 
power, 7-9; buys Louisiana, 8; 
occupies West Florida, 8; 
territorial rivalry with Great 
Britain, 9; acquires Spanish 
possession, 1 1 ; independence 
recognized, 143, 153; dispute 
with Spain (1785), 153; de- 
clares war with Great Britain, 
155; with Tripoli, 155; su- 
premacy on Lake Erie, 172; 
treaty with Spain, 180; war 
with Mexico, 181; treaty with 
Great Britain, 182; war with 
Spain (1898), 350. 

United States captures the 
Macedonian, 155. 

Upham, A. P., and Mexico, 184, 
185. 

Utah, admission into the Union, 
345- 

Van Buren, Martin, elected 

President, 181. 
Van Dorn, Earl, destruction of 

Holly Springs depot, 296. 
Vane, Sir Henry, Governor of 

Massachusetts, 32. 
Velasco in Spanish War, 355. 
Venezuela boundary dispute, 

345, 346. 
Vera Cruz captured, 195. 
Versailles, Peace of, 153. 
Vicksburg, and destruction of 

95 



DECISIVE BATTLES OF AMERICA 



Holly Springs depot, 296; 
Sherman's failure, 297; Mc- 
Clernand's command, 297 ; 
Grant's command, 298; topog- 
raphy, 298, 299; Confederate 
force, 299; Federal force, 299; 
tentative operations, 300; run- 
ning the batteries, 301; Grant 
crosses river below, 302; Fed- 
eral victories in rear. 302; 
siege, 303, 304; surrender, 304; 
losses, 304; bombardment, 
304n. 

Villamil, Ignacio de Mora y, at 
Buena Vista, 202. 

Ville de Paris, De Grasse's flag- 
ship, 146. 

Virginia admitted (by procla- 
mation) into the Union, 294. 

Virginia affair, 348. 

Virginia. See Merrimac. 

Virginia, slavery introduced, 
30; crown colony, 30; seces- 
sion, 273. 

Virginius captured, 343, 

Vixen in Spanish War, 369. 

Vizcaya in Spanish War, 359, 
371. 372. 

Wadsworth, Captain, am- 
bushed, 54. 

Walker, Captain, at the battle 
of Bunker Hill, iii. 

Wampanoags (Pocanokets) and 
King Philip's War, 44-58, 

Ward, Artemas, in command, 
99; at Bunker Hill, 103, 107, 
108, 115. 

Warner, Colonel, at Ticon- 
deroga, 126, 128. 

Warren, Gouverneur K., at 
Gettysburg, 319 321. 

Warren, James, joins army, 99; 
President of the Provincial 
Congress of Massachusetts, 
108; a volunteer at the battle 
of Bunker Hill, 109; killed, 
116. 

Washington, admission into the 
Union, 345. 

Washington, George, siege of 
Boston, 119; at Trenton, 119; 



at Princeton, 119, 121; at 
battle of the Brandy wine, 
119; at Germantown, 119; 
at Morristown, 121; Phila- 
delphia campaign, 121, 122; 
confers with Congress, 123; 
confidence in Schuyler, 127; 
loss of Philadelphia, 143; 
at Williamsburg, 145; at 
Yorktown, 147 - 149; elect- 
ed President, 154; death, 
154. 

Washington, D. C, seat of 
government, 154. 

Wasp captures the Frolic, 155. 

Wayne, Anthony, defeats Miami 
Indians, 154. 

Weedon, George, at the siege of 
Yorktown, 147. 

Welles, Gideon, Secretary of 
the Navy, 291. 

West, Captain, bought the site of 
Richmond, Va,, 15. 

West Indies, France, Spain, and 
England, in, 5. 

Weyler y Nicolau, Valeriano, in 
Cuba, 348. 

Wheeler, Joseph, in Spanish 
War, 364. 

Whiskey Insurrection in Phila- 
delphia, 154. 

Wigfall, L. T,, at the surrender 
of Sumter, 270, 271. 

Wilcox, C. M., and Pickett's 
charge, 324. 

Wilderness, battle of the, 327. 

Wilkinson, James, commissioner 

143- 
Willett, Marinus, at the siege 

of Fort Schuyler, 129. 
William Henry, Fort, captured, 

63- 

William III., death, 60. 

Williams, Major, killed at Bun- 
ker Hill, 115. 

Williams, Gen. Seth, at Appo- 
mattox, 336, 337. 

Williams, Roger, purchase of 
Rhode Island, obtains patent 
from Parliament, 42. 

Winslow, Josiah, Governor of 
Plymouth, 52. 



396 



INDEX 



Wisconsin, admitted into the 
Union, 229. 

Wolfe, James, expedition 
against Quebec, 66; career 
and character, 66, 67; forces, 
67, 68; advance, 68, 69; prog- 
ress of siege, 72; illness, 74; 
on Plains of Abraham, 75; 
death, 76. 

Wood, Leonard, and Rough 
Riders, 362. 

Wool, J. E., expedition against 
Mexico, 192; at Buena Vista, 
200. 

Worden, J. L,, Monitor-Virginia 



fight, 278; story of the fight, 

281-284. 
"Writs of assistance," right of 

search, 83; legalized, 90. 
Wyoming, admission into the 

Union, 345. 
Wyoming Valley massacre, 144. 

Yarnell, Lieutenant, courage 
of, at the battle of Lake Erie, 
169, 170. 

Yorktown, siege of, 145-150; 
British forces, 146; allied 
forces, 147; Cornwallis's sur- 
render, 149; results, 150-153. 



THE END 



;t 20ts@8 



i 



